In a Washington Post interview, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in office since December 8th, said that Germany will stand with its NATO allies and the European Union in responding to any Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Scholz stated that Germany would leave all option on the table to deal with Russian aggression, including shutting down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would deprive Russia of much needed wealth.
“We are ready to take together with our allies all necessary steps. And we have a very clear agreement with the United States government on gas transit and energy sovereignty in Europe,” Scholz said. “We already also agreed that we will support Ukraine, that we will fight for the gas transit via Ukraine intensely and that we will be very strong if this gas transit would be endangered. Also, it is absolutely clear that in a situation like this all options are on the table. Please understand that I will not get into any specifics, but our answer will be united and decisive.”