Joe Biden's new warning on Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted if Russia invades Ukraine and stressed unity with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the West rallies to avert a war in Europe. At a White House press conference with the new German leader, Biden, a longtime opponent of the decade-old pipeline project to Germany from Russia, said Russian forces crossing into Ukraine would trigger a shutdown. Scholz said the United States and Germany had the same approach to Ukraine, to Russia and to sanctions, but did not directly confirm the Nord Stream 2 plans or mention the pipeline publicly by name over the course of his day-long visit.Whether the United States and Germany are on the same page over the $11 billion project has become a crucial question as the two major democracies lead NATO allies in pushback against Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Scholz told reporters Russia would pay a very high price if it invaded Ukraine and said Germany and the United States had the same approach. "We will be united. We will act together. And we will take all the necessary steps," Scholz said Biden and Scholz emphasized that they preferred diplomacy as a solution to the Ukraine conflict. Asked if Russia still had an "off ramp" from any crisis, Biden said yes.Europe's most divisive energy project, Nord Stream 2 is designed by Russian energy giant Gazprom to double the amount of gas flowing from Russia straight to Germany, bypassing traditional transit nation Ukraine.