London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Ukraine crisis: Nord Stream 2 will end if Russia invades - Biden

Ukraine crisis: Nord Stream 2 will end if Russia invades - Biden

US President Joe Biden has vowed to shut down a key Russian gas pipeline to Germany if Moscow invades Ukraine.

Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington, Mr Biden said the US would "bring an end" to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Their talks came as French President Emmanuel Macron met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and expressed hope that war could be avoided.

There are growing Western fears of a Russian invasion, which Moscow denies.

Russia currently has more than 100,000 troops massed on Ukraine's borders.

US officials said on Sunday that Russia has assembled 70% of military forces needed for a full-scale invasion.

In recent weeks, Moscow has demanded that the Western military alliance Nato ban Ukraine from ever becoming a member, and that the group cuts its troop numbers in eastern Europe.

Nato has rejected both demands. It has instead suggested talks on other areas, such as limiting nuclear weapons.

The tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the West come nearly eight years after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula and backed a bloody rebellion in the eastern Donbas region.

Moscow accuses the Ukrainian government of failing to implement the Minsk agreement - an international deal sponsored by Germany and France to restore peace to the east, where Russian-backed rebels control swathes of territory and at least 14,000 people have been killed since 2014.

Biden vows to 'end' Nord Stream 2


Mr Biden and Mr Scholz held a press conference after their discussions in the US capital on Monday.

When asked about Nord Stream 2, the US president said "if Russia invades... again, then there will be longer Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."

However he did not give specifics, responding to a question about how he would do this by saying: "I promise you we will be able to do it."

Mr Scholz - on his first trip to Washington since become Chancellor and under criticism for his response to the Ukraine crisis - was more ambiguous about the pipeline.

But he did say the US and Germany were "absolutely united" on sanctions against Russia should it invade Ukraine, saying "we will do the same steps and they will be very, very hard to Russia".

The 1,225km (760-mile) Nord Stream 2 pipeline took five years to build and cost $11bn (£8bn). The energy project, which would run under the Baltic Sea, is designed to double Russia's gas exports to Germany.

But as yet it has not started operating, as regulators said in November it does not comply with German law and suspended its approval.


Major European businesses have invested heavily in Nord Stream 2. But many groups object to the plan.

Environmentalists question how it will fit in with German efforts to cut emissions and tackle man-made climate change, while politicians at home and abroad fear it could increase Europe's dependence on Russian energy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously described the pipeline as a "dangerous geopolitical weapon".

Nord Stream 2 in focus

Germany's new Chancellor Olaf Scholz is making his first trip to Washington amid criticism of a weak response to the Ukraine crisis.

Republican members of congress have portrayed Berlin as a brake on sanctions because of its interest in maintaining gas imports from Russia.

After meeting the chancellor President Biden insisted that Nord Stream2 would not become operational if Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Mr Scholz did not go that far, citing the need for strategic ambiguity. But he stressed that the US and Germany would be absolutely united in taking the same steps in response to any invasion, and that these steps would be very hard.

Mr Biden went out of his way to dispel the suggestion that Germany was not a reliable ally, insisting several times he had no doubt that it was.


'It's like they stuck a knife in our back': Ukraine has been living with war for the past eight years


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
×