Biden, Germany’s Scholz Try to Show United Front Amid Ukraine Tensions

 

Germany has not been sending weapons to Ukraine, angering Kyiv

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onFebruary 7, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsGermany, Ukraine

President Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on Monday as the two leaders tried to show a united front amid heightened tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

Germany has not been as eager to stoke conflict between Ukraine and Russia as some of its NATO allies and is not sending weapons to Kyiv, drawing condemnation from some Ukrainian officials.

Berlin has cited historical reasons as to why they don’t want to send weapons that could be used in a war in Eastern Europe. Another reason for Germany’s hesitation is its trade relationship with Russia, and Berlin’s desire for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to finally start flowing with gas.

At a joint press conference, President Biden said if Russia invades Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” But when Scholz was asked if Germany would “pull the plug” on the pipeline in the event of a Russian invasion, he stressed unity with allies but wouldn’t make the commitment.

“As I’ve 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,” Scholz said.

Germany relies on Russia for more than 50 percent of its natural gas supply, a number that will increase once Nord Stream 2 is operating. Russia also provides the EU as a whole with about a third of its gas.

NATO has said it’s “concerned” about Europe’s reliance on Russian gas. As things stand now, the trade relationship makes a conflict in the region less likely.

For their part, Russia has repeatedly denied that it is planning to invade Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials have been contradicting the US narrative about a potential Russian assault by downplaying Washington’s warnings.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/02/07/biden-germanys-scholz-try-to-show-united-front-amid-ukraine-tensions/