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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday that her government would work with a Donald Trump White House even after the former U.S. president and Republican candidate made false claims about Germany’s energy sector.
“We were really a bit astonished that there has been fake news, if not to say a lie, about my country,” Baerbock told Bloomberg TV in an interview. Nevertheless, she said, the government in Berlin had an “intensive interest that we will continue this trustful relationship” with the U.S.
Trump said in a debate with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10 that Germany had promised big on renewables but ultimately failed, reverting to “normal” energy sources.
“You believe in things like we’re not going to frack, we’re not going to take fossil fuel, we’re not going to do things that are going to be strong, whether you like it or not,” Trump said. “Germany tried that, and within one year, they were back to building normal energy plants.”
The day after the debate, Germany’s foreign office put out a statement asserting that “Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50 percent renewables.” It added that the country was shutting down, not building, coal and nuclear plants.
“If my country is being presented as something which is just wrong, then it’s a responsibility of the foreign office to say: Sorry, but this is not how the situation in our country is,” Baerbock told Bloomberg.
The German government has been walking an awkward diplomatic tightrope since Trump emerged as the frontrunner in the U.S. presidential race and then official candidate for the Republican Party in the November elections. Over the years, Trump has repeatedly criticized Berlin for its dependence on Russian gas and skimping on NATO-mandated defense spending increases, something Berlin has sought — slowly — to remedy.
