Biden vows US will ‘end’ Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Ukraine invaded by Russia
President Biden vowed Monday in a joint news conference with Germany’s chancellor to “bring an end to” the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine.
Biden promised to prevent fuel from flowing directly from Russia to Germany through the newly constructed Baltic Sea pipeline just moments before Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a noticeably less enthusiastic nod to the idea.
“If Russia invades — that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine, again — then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” the president said in the White House East Room.
“We will bring an end to it.”
Scholz, standing next to Biden, gave a verbose answer in German to the same question from Reuters reporter Andrea Shalal, who pointed out in a follow-up inquiry that Scholz did not specifically mention the pipeline.
“Will you commit today to turning off and pulling the plug on Nord Stream 2? You didn’t mention it. You haven’t mentioned it,” Shalal said.
Scholz, replying in English, said, “As I already said, we are acting together. We are absolutely united and we will not be taking different steps. We will do the same steps and they will be very, very hard to Russia and they should understand.”
A German reporter at the press conference, however, noted to Scholz, “you’re not mentioning Nord Stream 2 by name.”
“Don’t you think if you were to spell this out, you could win back trust as a strong ally here for the US?” the German reporter asked.
Biden chimed in for his counterpart, “Germany’s completely reliable — completely, totally, thoroughly reliable. I have no doubt about Germany at all.”
Scholz, who assumed office in December, has taken heat for not taking a more active role in the crisis. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschk slammed Germany for a recent token gesture of donating 5,000 military helmets.
Also at the press conference, Biden urged US citizens to flee Ukraine in the face of the Russian threat — despite Ukrainian authorities repeatedly saying that panic is unwarranted.
“I think it would be wise to leave the country,” the president said. “I don’t mean our — I don’t mean, I’m not talking about our diplomatic corps, I’m talking about Americans who are there.'”
“I’d hate to see them get caught in a crossfire if, in fact, they did invade,” Biden went on. “And there’s no need for that.”
Biden waived sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project in May, citing the fact that it was “almost completely finished.” Construction completed in September, but the pipeline is not yet operational.
Biden horrified Ukrainian officials last month when he said that a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine might result in less-severe penalties — with one Ukrainian official saying that the remark could give Russian President Vladimir Putin a “green light” to invade.
US and European officials estimate that Putin has massed up to 140,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. The White House also has alleged Russia may stage a “false flag” attack on its own forces to provide a justification for war.
Putin is demanding that NATO rule out accepting Ukraine as a member, but the Cold War-era military alliance has declined to do so.
When Biden was vice president in 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula and then annexed the territory from Ukraine following a disputed referendum. Putin’s government also allegedly supports a pair of pro-Russia breakaway states in eastern Ukraine.
