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Biden says U.S. and Germany are in 'lockstep' on Ukraine during meeting with German chancellor
President Biden met Monday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Before the closed-door meeting began, the president told reporters the two countries are working "in lockstep" to address the Ukraine crisis, The Guardian reported.
Per The Guardian, "Scholz called it 'an important meeting at an important time' and said the U.S. and Germany [are] working 'intensely' to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine."
Germany has given the international community plenty of reasons to doubt its commitment to supporting Ukraine.
The head of Germany's navy resigned last month after saying all Russian President Vladimir Putin really wants is "respect" and that it would be "easy to give him the respect he demands, and probably deserves."
Around the same time, the German government pledged, in lieu of weapons, to send 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine, drawing criticism and mockery, The New York Times reported. "The plan is obviously for 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers to run across the border and head-butt the Russian troops deployed there," Ukrainian-born German politician Marina Weisband tweeted.
Germany is a major importer of Russian natural gas and sits at the other end of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
On Fox News Sunday, host Martha MacCallum said Germany "has really been on the sidelines in this. They have large energy deals with Russia. They're not giving any lethal aid to Ukraine."
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan responded that the Biden administration has "been coordinating closely with Germany … on a swift and severe package of sanctions" to be imposed on Russia in the event of an invasion. He also said Germany is "the second-largest donor to Ukraine in Europe," despite German refusal to send weapons, and that "different allies" have "step[ped] up to take different pieces of this."