Scholz Warns Putin Off Invading Ukraine, Skirts Pipeline Issue
- New chancellor stops short of targeting Nord Stream 2 pipeline
- U.S. hasn’t yet secured commitment on pipeline, official says
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said a Russian invasion of Ukraine would trigger reprisals, the latest warning to President Vladimir Putin from Western leaders, though he declined to specify if halting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be part of any response.
An attack would be a “very dramatic violation of the rules which would have very different consequences,” he said in an interview with ZDF television on Wednesday, responding to a question about whether Germany would stop the contested gas link with Russia. Scholz was sworn in earlier Wednesday as chancellor.