Biden, Putin reach out to fellow world leaders amid Ukraine tensions

President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin began their weeks meeting with fellow world leaders to build up support amid the ongoing tensions in Ukraine. The former welcomed new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House for the first time since he took over for longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“It’s good to have a chance to get to know you more personally,” President Biden said to Chancellor Scholz before the meeting. “To state the obvious, Germany is one of America’s closest allies. We’re working in lockstep to further deter Russian aggression in Europe and address the challenges posed by China and promote stability in the Western Balkans.”

The most notable update to come out of the meeting was a promise from Biden to block the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline if Russia decides to invade Ukraine. Some notable Republicans have been calling on Biden to block the pipeline in order to gain leverage in negotiations.

“We are in agreement that it cannot be business as usual if Russia further invades,” Biden said in a news conference after the meeting. Blocking the pipeline would hurt Russia economically, but it would also cause supply problems for Germany. Despite this, he emphasized Monday that he is still on board.

“We have intensively prepared everything to be ready with the necessary sanctions if there is a military aggression against Ukraine,” Scholz said. “And this is necessary, it is necessary that we do this in advance so that Russia can clearly understand that these are far reaching, severe measures.”

The meeting of world leaders continued when President Putin welcomed French President Emannuel Macron to Moscow for more than five hour Monday. President Macron called for deescalation, while Putin retorted that the West is actually the invading force.

“Russia is directly called the main threat and enemy by the military strategy of NATO of 2019,” Putin said Monday. “NATO determined us an enemy.”

While Biden and Putin met with world leaders, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent his Monday hosting EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Among other things, the two discussed rising fears about what would happen to Europe’s energy supply if Russia were to invade Ukraine and shut off natural gas exports in retaliation for sanctions from the West.

“We’re talking with governments and major producers around the world about surging their production and distribution capacity,” Blinken said. “We’re coordinating with our allies and partners with energy sector stakeholders, including about how best to share energy reserves.”