In one of his first interviews as German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz said that Russia would have to face consequences if Ukraine's borders are violated.
Scholz said this on Wednesday, December 8, in an interview with Welt-TV, European Pravda reported, he was quoted by DPA news agency.
"We have a very clear position: we want everyone to respect the inviolability of borders," Olaf Scholz said. He added that Germany and its allies are doing everything possible to avoid such an escalation.
"Everyone understands that otherwise there will be consequences, but everything must be done now to keep it that way," he said.
Asked if he, like former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, held the view that Nord Stream 2 should be launched, Scholz said that there is an orderly procedure and that the Federal Network Agency will make its decision.
According to him, everyone wants to ensure that there are no armed clashes in Ukraine.
As a reminder, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan earlier assured that Biden made no concessions or commitments in response to Putin's demand not to accept Ukraine and other Russian neighbors into the alliance and insisted that sovereign states are free to choose with whom to join alliances.
However, the White House agreed to talks with Putin's team on how to allay Russia's concerns about Ukraine's possible accession to the alliance.
The talks between Biden and Putin in the format of a video meeting took place on December 7 and lasted more than two hours. The main topic was the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.
