Biden and Scholz meet at the White House

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Western allies would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes”, as he visited the White House Friday for a private meeting with US President Joe Biden.

This is a very, very important year because of the dangerous threat to peace coming from Russia”, Scholz said.

China was not mentioned during the short address of leaders in the Oval Office, but this meeting comes at a time when the two leaders expressed their concerns that China could supply Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine.

Such action from China could potentially change the trajectory of war, allowing Moscow to meet its impoverished weapons reserves.

Scholz, during a speech to the Germany Parliament, called on China to use its influence in Moscow to pressure Russian troops to withdraw and not supply weapons to Russia.

China is Germany's main trading partner, and European nations, in general, have been more cautious than the United States in taking a tough stance on Beijing.

The US and Germany have worked closely together to supply Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid, but there have also been friction on issues such as tank security, and Washington has repeatedly been frustrated with Berlin's reluctance.

Scholz's visit is described as a real <x0 working card between these two leaders”

This is a face-to-face meeting where Biden and Scholz are the only people in the room for most of the time.

Asked about the circumstances of his visit, Scholz said he and Biden “wanted to speak directly to each other”, and he described the situation created as “a global situation where things have become very difficult”.

Scholz has rejected any notion of disagreement between allies.

It is important that such friends can talk about all these situations together, consistently”, he said. /rel/