WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf

Scholz defended U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday after he

mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy

as "President Putin" before correcting himself at the NATO

summit in Washington.

"Slips of tongue happen, and if you always monitor everyone,

you will find enough of them," Scholz said when asked about the

incident by reporters. "But this does not change a single thing

of what the U.S. president stated very clearly in his speech."