WASHINGTON_Germany's new foreign minister is demanding that General Motors protect jobs in its European unit Opel and return a German government loan.

Guido Westerwelle spoke after talks with U.S. lawmakers. He was also meeting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The comments come two days after GM decided to keep Opel, rejecting a deal to sell a majority of its European operation to a group led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna. The German government backed that deal and provided a euro1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) bridge loan to keep Opel afloat.

Westerwelle said Thursday he was making clear in his meetings that the loan "must be paid back."

GM has said it would cut about the same number of jobs at Opel as Magna would have.

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