Biden warns Americans to leave Ukraine as U.S., Germany pledge unity on Russian aggression

President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following a White House meeting whose backdrop featured concerns over Germany’s stance on Russian aggression, presented a united front as key trans-Atlantic partners — with Biden ultimately saying it would be “wise” for Americans to leave Ukraine.

The two leaders stood at lecterns side by side in the East Room, issuing opening remarks in which Biden deemed the U.S.-Germany relationship a “close” friendship and a “reliable” partnership.

“The bottom line is this: Whether allies in NATO, partners through the European Union, as leaders of the G-7 and G-20 or through our strong bilateral relationship, Germany and the United States are close friends, reliable partners and we can count on one another,” Biden said. “There’s no issue of global importance where Germany and the United States are not working together.”

Scholz echoed Biden’s message on unity, and on Russia said that the U.S., Germany and other allies would respond with “severe sanctions we have worked on together” if Russia invaded Ukraine.

“It is important that we act together, that we stand together and that we do what is necessary together,” Scholz said. “There will be a high price for Russia.”

Scholz’s visit comes as Biden administration officials warn that Russia has assembled 70 percent of the troops needed to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and as Biden works to present a united NATO response to the crisis.

“I think it would be wise to leave the country. I don’t mean — not talking about our diplomatic corps. I’m talking about Americans who are there,” Biden said. “I hate to see them get caught in a crossfire if in fact they did invade. they can invade.”

The German leader, who took over from Angela Merkel last December, has been hesitant to join NATO allies in the group’s work to coordinate and outline its response if Russian President Vladimir Putin moves forward with an invasion — sounding the alarm for critics who have accused Germany of not playing an active enough role in easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. And while the two leaders vowed on Monday to respond in lockstep, there seemed to be space between Biden and Scholz on Nord Stream 2 — which wasn’t mentioned by name in either of the leaders' opening remarks. While Biden pledged to shut down the pipeline should Russia invade, Scholz refused to even say its name.

“We will bring an end to it,” Biden said. “I promise you. We will be able to do it.”

When Scholz was pressed on whether he was committing to halting the pipeline if Putin’s troops moved forward, he kept his answer vague.

“We will act together,” Scholz said. “We will not be taking different steps. And they will be very, very hard to Russia.”

In a leaked diplomatic cable last week, the German ambassador in Washington warned that a growing number of politicians in Washington have branded Germany as an “unreliable partner.”Scholz defended himself ahead of Monday’s meeting in aninterview with The Washington Post published on Sunday.

The German leader said his country was working with its NATO allies, the European Union and the U.S. on a response to Russia.

“Our strict response is saying it will have very high prices if they intervene and that we work very hard to get a way out of this situation,” Scholz said.

When asked whether the White House viewed Germany as a “reliable partner,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki during Monday’s briefing defended Germany as the second-largest donor to Ukraine and Europe and defined the U.S. relationship with Germany as “important” and “long and abiding.”

“So, today is an opportunity for the president to build on the relationship with the chancellor, to continue to build on the long and abiding relationship with the Germans,” Psaki said. “And we are reunited in our view of the actions, the potential actions of Russian leaders and united in our efforts to hold them accountable.

The German chancellor is scheduled to visit Ukraine next week before he makes the trip to Moscow for a meeting with Putin. Scholz told the Post that during his meeting in Moscow, he would warn Putin that Russia would pay “a very high price” if he moved troops into Ukraine.