ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden congratulated new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday, vowing “strong ties.”
Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden wanted to thank Angela Merkel, who has stepped down after “her many years of leadership in Germany.”
Biden extends “congratulations” to Scholz and “is looking forward to building on the strong ties between our two nations,” she said.
The former finance minister was officially named Germany’s ninth post-war leader, following 16 years with Merkel at the helm of Europe’s most powerful economy.
Jean-Pierre said there was no immediate plan for a conversation between Biden and Scholz, but “the president looks forward to speaking with the chancellor.”
A key issue on the agenda is likely to be the fate of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline which Russia built to deliver natural gas to Germany.
Biden has suggested potentially targeting the newly built pipeline as part of sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin orders a further attack on neighboring Ukraine.
However, Europe relies heavily on Russian energy deliveries, complicating the use of the pipeline as leverage against Moscow.
© Agence France-Presse