Berlin : US President Barack Obama, on a farewell visit to Europe, said Thursday he hoped Donald Trump would "stand up" to Russia but added he was "cautiously optimistic" about his successor in the White House.
Speaking in Berlin, Obama also praised as an "outstanding" international partner his host Angela Merkel, seen by many as a new standard bearer of liberal democracy as the world tensely awaits how Trump will reshape the global order.
In a joint news conference, Obama and Merkel stressed the need for a strong NATO, free trade and action on climate change, as Western leaders brace for potentially radical changes after Trump moves into the Oval Office in January.
Citing the Syria and Ukraine conflicts, Obama said he hoped Trump, who has voiced admiration for President Vladimir Putin, "is willing to stand up to Russia where they are deviating from our values and international norms".
He said Russia has "influence around the world" but cautioned Trump against the temptation to "take a realpolitik approach" and "cut some deals with Russia" that hurt smaller countries including Syria because it may seem convenient at the time.
"And that will be something that I think we'll learn more about as the president-elect puts his team together," he said.
Despite adopting a sombre tone during his sixth and last visit to Germany as US president, Obamasaid he was nevertheless "cautiously optimistic about my successor and the shift from campaign mode to governance".
He said "there's something about the solemn responsibilities of that office... that forces you to focus, that demands seriousness".
"And if you're not serious about the job, then you probably won't be there very long."
But he also had a jab at Trump's populist campaign in what has been dubbed the "post-fact era", saying that "if we can't discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems".
With nationalists on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic, he warned that if voters and politicians adopted absolutist views and demonised their opponents, "then democracy will break down".
