Germany’s Chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz expressed concern on Tuesday about Russian troop movements on the Ukrainian border and said any attempts to cross the frontier would be unacceptable.
“It is very, very important that no one rolls through the history books to draw new borders,” Mr. Scholz said at a news conference after signing a three-party coalition agreement.
“It must be quite, quite clear that it would be an unacceptable situation if there were a threat to Ukraine,” Mr. Scholz said, while stressing that borders could not be violated.
Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, is due to take office on coming Wednesday after being elected by the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
Incoming Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is co-leader of the Greens, said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is to transport gas from Russia to Europe, bypassing Ukraine, had not yet received approval and political discussions had to continue.
The Greens have traditionally taken a tougher line with Russia, as well as with China.
