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Biden says Nord Stream 2 will end if Russia invades, but German Chancellor won't commit

Germany imports more than 75% of its gas from Russia.

February 7, 2022 9:02pm

Updated: February 7, 2022 10:51pm

President Joe Biden said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will stop if Russia invades Ukraine, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not commit to ending the pipeline, despite the two leaders meeting earlier Monday.

The gas pipeline goes from Russia through the Baltic Sea into Germany. Russia supplies 41% of the European Union's gas, but 10 EU countries, including Germany and Austria, import more than 75% of their gas from Russia, The Guardian reports.

"If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be, there will be no longer a Nord Stream Two. We will bring an end to it," Biden told a reporter on Monday during a joint press conference with Scholz. 

When Scholz was pressed minutes later on Nord Stream 2, he responded: "As I already said we are acting together. We are absolutely united, and we are not taking different steps. We will do the same steps, and they will be very, very hard to Russia, and they should understand."

During an interview Monday with CNN's Jake Tapper, Scholz responded similarly.

"All the steps we will take, we will do together," he reiterated. "As the President said, we are preparing for that. You can understand and you can be absolutely sure that Germany will be together with all its allies and especially the United States, that we take the same steps. There will be no differences in that situation."