As Scholz pointed out, these negotiations are supposed to be very significant, and "preparations have been made on all sides." He added that the meeting will be postponed. "But I must say quite frankly that if such storms were raging in my country, I would also make such a decision," Scholz stated.
This was intended to be Biden's first visit to Germany in four years of his presidency. A number of bilateral meetings were planned; additionally, he was set to lead the meeting of the contact group on defense issues concerning Ukraine in the "Ramstein" format for the first time, which is scheduled to take place at the level of leaders of countries and governments on October 12.
In a speech about hurricane preparations, Biden mentioned that he plans to have a phone conversation with Scholz to "try to resolve this issue." He noted that he still intends to carry out all previously scheduled visits, as reported in a video by ABC.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to join Biden, but since the trip was postponed, he will return from Laos (where he went for the ASEAN summit) to Washington. This was announced at a briefing on the evening of October 8 by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.