WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� In a flurry of diplomacy across two continents, President Joe Biden met with Germany鈥檚 new leader Monday and vowed the crucial Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline will be blocked if Russia further invades Ukraine. Russia's Vladimir Putin retorted that the U.S. and its allies are the only ones talking invasion.
Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron met for more than five hours in Moscow at the same time Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke at the White House in efforts to defuse the crisis before armed conflict breaks out. Russia has massed thousands of troops at the Ukraine border, adding military might almost daily.
The White House has expressed increasing alarm about the prospects of war, and Biden has been looking to solidify support among European allies for economy-jarring sanctions against Russia if it attacks.
鈥淚f Russia invades, that means tanks and troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淲e will bring an end to it."
That would hurt Russia economically but also cause supply problems for Germany. Construction of the pipeline has been completed, but it is not yet operating.
鈥淲e are jointly ready, and all of NATO is ready,鈥� Biden said, referring to the powerful Western alliance, though Ukraine is not a member.
While Biden reiterated with certitude that the pipeline would not move forward, Scholz stressed the need to keep some ambiguity about sanctions in order to press Russia to de-escalate the crisis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 necessary for Russia to understand that a lot more could happen than they鈥檝e perhaps calculated with themselves,.鈥� Scholz said.
The buildup of over 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fueled Western worries of a possible offensive. White House national security adviser that Russia could invade Ukraine 鈥渁ny day,鈥� triggering a conflict that would come at an 鈥渆normous human cost.鈥�
At the same time, Biden and NATO allies have made clear there are no plans for sending in troops to fight Russia on Ukraine's behalf.
Macron and Putin, during their lengthy meeting 鈥� with a dinner that featured the choice of sturgeon or reindeer with sweet potatoes and pear pie with vanilla ice cream 鈥� registered their disagreements but also emphasized a need for more talks.
Putin noted that the U.S. and NATO have ignored Moscow鈥檚 demands that the alliance guarantee it will keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out, that they refrain from placing weapons in Ukraine and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe.
He, too, signaled his readiness to continue negotiations and denied anew that Russia has any intention of invading Ukraine.
鈥淲e are categorically against any further NATO鈥檚 expansion eastward because it poses a threat to us,鈥� Putin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not us who鈥檚 advancing to NATO, it鈥檚 NATO coming to us and so it鈥檚 illogical to talk about Russia鈥檚 aggressive behavior.鈥�
He scoffed at Western descriptions of NATO as a defensive alliance, saying sarcastically that 鈥減eople of Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan have learned it from their own experience.鈥� And he threatened a wider war if Ukraine should join the alliance and perhaps try to win back Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
鈥淓uropean countries will automatically be drawn into a military conflict with Russia,鈥� Putin said. 鈥淵ou will be drawn into that conflict beyond your will. There will be no winners.鈥�
Macron described the talks as 鈥渟ubstantial, deep鈥� with a focus on conditions that could help de-escalation.
鈥淲e tried to build converging elements,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he upcoming days will be crucial and deep discussions together will be needed.鈥�
In the meantime, Biden warned, "it would be wise鈥� for Americans other than essential diplomats to leave Ukraine.
On a positive note, Putin said without elaboration that some of Macron鈥檚 proposals could serve as a basis for a settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, adding that they agreed to have a call after Macron鈥檚 visit to Kyiv Tuesday.
Likewise, Biden said when asked if there remained an 鈥渙fframp鈥� for Russia in the standoff: 鈥淭he answer is yes.鈥�
Before meeting Biden, Scholz told German media that "there will be a very high price if Ukraine is attacked militarily. And we are preparing for this very precisely and have been talking about the details for a long time.鈥� Scholz will travel to Kyiv and Moscow Feb. 14-15..
Separately German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said her country would add up to 350 troops within a few days to about 500 already a part of a NATO battlegroup in Lithuania. 鈥淲ith this, we are strengthening our contribution to forces on NATO鈥檚 eastern flank and sending a very clear signal of unity to our allies,鈥� she said.
Biden already has deployed additional U.S. troops to Poland, Romania and Germany, and a few dozen elite U.S troops and equipment landed Sunday in southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, with hundreds more infantry troops of the 82nd Airborne Division set to arrive.
Britain said the U.S. was sending 350 troops to Poland to bolster NATO forces, joining 100 Royal Engineers already there.
At a news conference in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell defended the increasingly dire Western warnings that a Russian invasion may be imminent.
鈥淭his is not alarmism. This is simply the facts,鈥� Blinken said. 鈥淎nd the facts are that we鈥檝e seen over the last few months a massive amassing of Russian forces on Ukraine鈥檚 borders."
Borrell noted that 鈥�140,000 troops massed on the border is not to go to have tea.鈥�
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is weighing a more permanent military presence in southeast Europe in response to Russia鈥檚 鈥渕assive military deployment鈥� near Ukraine.
鈥淲e are considering more longer-term adjustments to our posture, our presence in the eastern part of the alliance,鈥� Stoltenberg said after talks in Brussels with Polish President Andrzej Duda. 鈥淚f Russia really wants less NATO close to the borders, they get the opposite.鈥�
Stoltenberg gave no details and said no final decision has been made, but the move could mirror NATO鈥檚 long-term military presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, where about 5,000 troops are stationed. It would see a similar force based in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
The aim would be only to bolster the defenses of NATO allies in the region. The troops would not cross into Ukraine should Russia invade.
Biden and Scholz also discussed contingency plans for providing gas supplies to Europe should Russia cut off supply to Europe. Europe is already dealing with liquefied natural gas supplies being sapped by a cold winter last year, a summer with little renewable energy generation and Russia delivering less than usual.
Biden asserted the U.S. and other countries could make up a 鈥渟ignificant portion鈥� of supplies lost should Russia move to cut off Europe.
But energy experts say replacing Russian gas would be Export terminals cost billions of dollars to build and are working at capacity in the U.S.
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Associated Press writers Corbet and Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Matthew Lee, Colleen Long and Zeke Miller in Washington, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin and Jill Lawless in London contributed.
Aamer Madhani, Sylvie Corbet And Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press
