Following a bilat in which the two world leaders agreed they are in "lockstep" as to handling the current Russia-Ukraine crisis, President Biden warned alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that any movement on Moscow's part would be a threat to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
"If Russia invades — that means tanks and troops crossing the border of Ukraine again — then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2," Biden said during the joint press conference. "We will bring an end to it."
The president did not detail exactly how that might happen, but promised "we'll be able to do it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scholz did not respond with the same gusto as Biden did, opting instead to repeat a frequent refrain: "We are absolutely united." Previously, the German leader "has been vague about whether he would agree to terminate the pipeline project," the Times writes.
Scholz on Monday also reportedly did not use the pipeline's name when asked about it, replying through a translator that it is best to "not spell out everything in public," but both the U.S. and Germany have planned out "far-reaching measures" in advance, The Independent says.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is "meant to connect Russian natural gas supplies with Germany and the rest of Europe," notes The Independent. Its construction has become quite the issue, given it could serve as a Russian "coercive tool against Ukraine and other allies," the Times adds.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.