The President of Germany presented Scholz with a letter of appointment

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented Olaf Scholz with a letter of appointment as Chancellor. The ceremony was held at the Bellevue Presidential Palace. The broadcast was conducted on the website of the Bundestag.

Earlier, on December 8, Scholz was elected the new Chancellor of Germany following a vote in the Bundestag. He succeeded Angela Merkel, who has served as chancellor for the past 16 years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory TELEGRAM to Scholz. “I look forward to establishing a constructive dialogue with you and joint work on topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda,” he wrote.

Putin added that this was in the "fundamental interests" of Russian and German citizens. In addition, such an approach would help to strengthen stability and security at the global and regional level, the President noted.