Germany supports US stance on Nord Stream 2
US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claims German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Nord Stream 2 pipeline will not be operated in case an alleged Russian "invasion" of Ukraine occurs.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured a group of US senators that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would not go ahead if Russia allegedly "invades" Ukraine, US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
McConnell told reporters he and a group of colleagues had been given assurances at a dinner with Scholz, who was making his first Washington trip since replacing Angela Merkel.
"The good news is he confirmed what President (Joe) Biden said yesterday: that if the invasion occurs, Nord Stream 2 will not go forward," he added.
Scholz was much less clear on Monday about how far he was willing to go to "punish" Russia if an alleged attack on Kiev was launched by Moscow.
The Chancellor told a joint news conference with Biden that the pair were "absolutely united" on sanctions against Russia, adding that "we will do the same steps and they will be very, very hard to Russia."
But when asked directly to comment on Nord Stream 2, he repeatedly avoided mentioning the pipeline by name or confirming directly that he would support halting operating the infrastructure.
On the other hand, Biden made an unequivocal vow to shut Nord Stream 2 down if Moscow "invades" Ukraine.
Nord Stream 2 is the German-Russian project built to deliver Russian gas to Europe.
The US tried to use the pipeline as a means to leverage Russia once again.
It is noteworthy that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is strongly supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin and had received support from former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
