German Chancellor FAILS to back Biden’s vow to stop Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Putin invades Ukraine

President Joe Biden confirmed on Monday that there will be no Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine although he did not detail how that would be accomplished.

Germany and the United States have been working closely together to ensure sanctions can be imposed quickly on Russia in the event of a fresh attack on Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

“We don’t want to start talking about this only when, should the worst happen, there is a military incursion against Ukraine, rather we want to respond quickly and in unison. And if it is needed this is what will happen,” Scholz said at a news conference with U.S. President Joe Biden.

“It will have very high costs for Russia,” Scholz said at the White House. “We have now repeated this message so many times that even Russia must have understood it now,” he added.

Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Oval Office as Western countries brace for an invasion of Ukraine as some 100,000 Russian troops have amassed near its border.

Russia denies it is planning an invasion. U.S. officials say an attack could occur within days or weeks.

The United States and Germany on Monday sought to present a united front against potential Russian military aggression in Ukraine, with President Joe Biden declaring the two in “lockstep” despite questions over Berlin’s commitment to scuttle an important energy pipeline.

While Biden warned that there would be no Nord Stream 2 if Russia invaded, Scholz remained tight-lipped, saying only that the allies were unified in their response and that Russia should not know all their plans.

“As I already said, we are acting together, we are absolutely united, we will not take different steps, we will do the same steps and they will be very very hard to Russia and they should understand,” Scholz said in English seeking to reassure the U.S. audience.

Germany, which uses Russian gas to cover half of its needs, has delayed approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline until at least the second half of 2022 but has refused to cancel the nearly-completed project.

Germany said it was prepared to continue to provide a large amount of funding for the economic stabilisation of Ukraine.

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