WASHINGTON – February 8 (ONLINE): US President Joe Biden made a categorical vow Monday at a meeting with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz to shut down the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe if Moscow launches an invasion of Ukraine.
Scholz, however, remained more ambiguous, promising only that he was “united” with Biden.
Biden’s declaration was his most blunt so far on the fate of the massive new pipeline, which has been completed, but has yet to begin funneling natural gas to Germany, tying energy hungry Europe ever closer to Russia.
“If Russia invades — that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine, again — then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” Biden told a joint White House news conference with Scholz, following bilateral talks in the Oval Office.
“I promise you,” Biden said, “we will bring an end to it.”
Scholz was much less clear about how far he’s willing to go to punish Russia if an attack is launched by the more than 100,000 troops ordered by President Vladimir Putin to mass on Ukraine’s borders.
He said he and Biden were “absolutely united” on sanctions against Russia, insisting that “we will not (be) taking different steps, we will do the same steps and they will be very, very hard to Russia.”
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