This may include advertisements from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. The US President appealed for Nord Stream 2, which will transport gas from Russia into Germany, bypassing Poland and Ukraine, to be cancelled due to reports of Russian troops at the Ukraine-Russia border. After a two-hour virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last night, Mr Biden spoke to European allies about a wide range of issues, including Moscow's increasing pressure on Ukraine.
Washington told Europe that it needs to step in and do more to put limits on the powers of Mr Putin and use their economic leverage to discourage Moscow from invading. Moscow has been pushing for the certification of Nord Stream 2 to speed up, and as a result has been accused of tightening gas supplies in Europe. German regulators have suspended the certification of the pipeline, but it appears that the Biden administration believes that more can be done as tension with Ukraine soars. The new Chancellor, Olaf Sholz, is taking a tough line on Russia, as he is due to be sworn in today. There is still to be seen whether the new Chancellor will tear up the deal signed by his predecessor. He said on Tuesday that Germany was very concerned about the troop movements on the Ukrainian border. Therefore, it must be very clear that this would be an unacceptable situation if there was a threat to Ukraine. The EU will expand existing sanctions in coordination with our partners, and we are ready to take additional restrictive measures, according to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. But Mr Sholz has still advocated for the support of Nord Stream 2, having said he feels tied to Ms Merkel's commitments on the pipeline, and echoed her threats that Germany could sanction Russia if it uses gas as a geopolitical weapon against Ukraine. Putin has already been accused of using gas as a geopolitical weapon after he withheld gas supplies to Europe, blocking access to the gas transmission system of Ukraine from other Russian companies and blocking exports from Central Asia that could go to Ukraine via Russia. READ MORE: Elon Musk's dire warning civilisation is going to crumble''