Germany's Scholz: We must avoid dividing world into Cold War-style blocs

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a news conference at the federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against creating a new Cold War by dividing the world into blocs and called for putting all efforts towards building new partnerships in an opinion piece for Foreign Affairs magazine published online on Monday.

The West must stand up for democratic values and protect open societies, "but we must also avoid the temptation to once again divide the world into blocs," wrote Scholz in the piece.

(Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Paul Carrel)