By Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held talks on Friday focused on the war in Ukraine and shared concerns that China may provide weapons to Russia as its invasion of Ukraine grinds into a second year.
Sitting next to Scholz in the Oval Office, Biden thanked the German leader for his “strong and steady leadership” and support for Ukraine.
Scholz said it was important to demonstrate that allies would back Ukraine “as long as it takes and as long as is necessary.”
Biden hailed Scholz’s decision to increase Germany’s military spending and diversify energy sources away from Russia, and said the two leaders had worked in lockstep with other allies to support Ukraine.
U.S. officials said Ukraine is bracing for a new Russian offensive in coming weeks.
“As NATO allies, we’re making the alliance stronger,” Biden said, as the United States announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $400 million that includes ammunition and tactical bridges to move tanks and armored vehicles.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters just before the meeting that it would help the leaders discuss coordination on Ukraine and deepen their relationship.
Scholz’s came days after Biden’s security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden only sent Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January because Scholz made it a pre-condition for sending German Leopards.
Biden’s decision came against his military’s advice, Sullivan told ABC News.
Berlin has insisted that Biden came to see it was necessary and so the decision was consensual.
Scholz arrived in Washington as the U.S. is consulting allies about imposing sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to four U.S.
officials and other sources.
Neither Washington nor Berlin have evidence of Beijing’s providing weapons to Moscow, but U.S. officials say they are monitoring the situation closely.
“We haven’t yet seen China do anything yet, as it relates to lethal weapons,” Jean-Pierre said.
“Every step China takes toward Russia makes it harder for China with Europe and other countries around the world.”
A senior European Union official told a separate briefing that it would be an “absolute red line” if China provided weapons to Russia, and the EU would respond with sanctions.
Germany has typically taken a much less hawkish stance on China, its top trading partner, than the U.S., but Scholz on Thursday urged China not to provide weapons to Moscow and asked Beijing to pressure Russia to pull back its forces, a speech welcomed by U.S.
officials.
Last month, a delegation of U.S. officials including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended an annual security gathering in Munich, with many praising Germany for its support of Ukraine, which required an overhaul of its defense and foreign policy.
Scholz and Biden were also expected to address a dispute over U.S.
subsidies for climate-friendly technologies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that German and EU officials worry would disadvantage their companies.
The EU official said U.S. and European officials were working on a high-level agreement that would make European minerals eligible for U.S.
tax credits, with an announcement possible as early as next Friday when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits the White House.
Critics say the IRA was a slap in the face to Europe from its biggest ally at a time when Europe was already struggling with sharply higher energy prices due to the Ukraine war.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, David Brunnstrom, Don Durfee, Andrea Shalal and Eric Beech; Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Leslie Adler, Sharon Singleton and Josie Kao)
