BERLIN // Offering some pointed foreign policy advice to his successor, US president Barack Obama expressed hope on Thursday that his succesor, Donald Trump, will stand up to Russia when it deviates from American “values and international norms”.
Mr Obama, in a joint news conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel during his final presidential visit to Germany, said that while he does not expect Mr Trump to “follow exactly our blueprint or our approach” he is hopeful that the president-elect will pursue constructive policies that defend democratic values and the rule of law.
He said Mr Trump shouldn’t “simply take a real-politik approach and suggest that if we just cut some deals with Russia, even if it hurts people or even if it violates international norms or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable or creates long-term problems in regions like Syria, that we just do whatever’s convenient at the time”.
Mr Obama began his presidency with a goal to “reset” US ties with Russia, but they eventually plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War over conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Mr Trump has spoken favourably of Russian president Vladimir Putin. But he has outlined few specifics as to how he would go about recalibrating ties with the country.
Mrs Merkel, for her part, said she was approaching the incoming Trump administration with “an open mind” and was encouraged that the presidential process in the United States was “working smoothly” so far.
In Germany, officials hope the change in presidents will not bring about a significant shift in relations between the two countries or the Nato alliance.
Mrs Merkel worked well with president George W Bush, a Republican, before the election of Mr Obama, a Democrat. She talked with Mr Trump by phone after his election, offering him Germany’s “close cooperation”. But she emphasised that this would be on the basis of what she said were shared values of “democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for the dignity of human beings, independently of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views”.
A joint opinion piece by Mr Obama and Mrs Merkel – which was published on Thursday in Germany's weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche – seemed directed as much at the incoming Trump administration in the US as at European nations. In it, the two leaders stressed that the "underlying bedrock of our shared values is strong" even if the pursuit of common goals is sometimes gone about differently.
Mr Obama and Mrs Merkel noted that trade between the US and the European Union was the largest between any two partners worldwide, and emphasised that the trans-Atlantic friendship has helped forge a climate accord, provide help for refugees worldwide, form a collective defense under Nato, and strengthen the global fight against ISIL.
Mr Trump, in contrast, has called climate change a “hoax” and said that the climate accord should be renegotiated. He has also promised to tighten rules for accepting refugees, complained that the US is paying more than its share to support Nato and sharply criticised the US strategy for fighting ISIL.
Mrs Merkel and Mr Obama have enjoyed a close relationship over the years, and the departing US president seems to be counting on the German leader’s strength to help counter the isolationist tone voiced by Mr Trump during the election campaign.
The mood for Mr Obama’s last visit to Germany as president was significantly tamped down compared with his visit to the capital as a presidential candidate in 2008, when some 200,000 exuberant fans packed the road between the landmark Brandenburg Gate and Victory Column to hear him speak.
In a speech that solidified his place on the world stage Mr Obama told Berliners that progress requires sacrifice and shared burdens among allies.
“That is why America cannot turn inward,” he told the cheering crowd. “That is why Europe cannot turn inward.”
Eight years later, these words seem to have foreshadowed the nationalist, isolationist forces gaining traction in some parts of Europe and highlighted by Mr Trump’s victory in the US election.
On Friday, Mr Obama will meet with the leaders of France, Italy, Spain and Britain in Berlin. The last stop on his final foreign tour will be in Peru.
* Associated Press