Scholz says Germany will fulfil its 'special responsibility' to NATO

Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he has assured fellow NATO leaders that Germany, as Europe's largest economy, will pull its weight in the alliance.

"Germany is the largest country in Europe within the NATO alliance. This gives us a very special responsibility," Scholz said on the sidelines of the NATO summit under way in Washington on Wednesday.

"And I can say this very clearly and unequivocally here: We will - I will - fulfil this responsibility."

The question of Germany's role in the alliance is being asked more loudly in view of Donald Trump's possible victory in the US presidential election and French President Emmanuel Macron's likely shaky political position in the wake of parliamentary elections.

Perhaps most pressingly, there are worries whether aid for Ukraine can be maintained at the current level if Trump wins the White House and shuts off funding.