German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump again, with the central theme being “security policy in Europe” and Ukraine.

“At the heart of the discussion was the political security challenges in Europe,” government spokesman Stephen Hembestright said earlier this evening, adding that Mr. Scholz reiterated to Donald Trump that Germany “will continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian military aggression, as long as necessary.”

The two leaders agreed that “the Russian war against Ukraine has been going on for far too long” and that “it is important to get on the road to a just and sustainable peace as soon as possible.”

Yesterday Mr. Solz had a chance to discuss the issue with key European allies in Brussels and, like the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaya Kalas, warned that no deal should be made in the absence of the Ukrainians.

The chancellor had a conversation with Mr. Trump shortly after the US election, on November 11, and had expressed his optimism at the time that cooperation with the future US administration on the issue of Ukraine would be possible.