The Senate’s top Republican on Tuesday said he received assurances from Germany’s new leader that if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders an invasion of Ukraine, it would trigger the end of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was among a small bipartisan group of senators to have dinner on Monday evening in Washington with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who earlier in the day had his first one-on-one meeting with President Joe Biden, at the White House. Biden said an invasion would mean the end of the divisive gas pipeline, but Scholz declined to be as explicit.
“He confirmed what President Biden said yesterday: That if invasion occurs, Nord Stream 2 will not go forward,” McConnell said during his weekly GOP leadership press conference, referring to the underwater pipeline that would transport Russian natural gas to Germany and energy markets elsewhere in Europe.
