US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took pains to emphasize the unity of the US and Germany as they met in the White House on Monday amid international efforts to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Germany is one of America's closest allies," Biden said during talks with Scholz in the Oval Office. He said he looked forward to working closely together.
Scholz called the two nations "closest allies" and said they were "working intensely together."
"So it's an important meeting and a very, very important time," Scholz said.
Before the meeting, Scholz reaffirmed Germany's commitment to the alliance, and said there would be "a very high price to pay if Ukraine is attacked militarily."
Scholz said the details of that price had long been discussed and prepared with a view to rapid, decisive and unanimous action.
It is Scholz's inaugural visit to Washington after he succeeded Angela Merkel in December, but the trip is anything but routine, with spiralling tensions at the Russian-Ukrainian border set to dominate the talks.
The stand-off has also called Berlin's commitment to its key US ally into question.
Doubts over the trans-Atlantic alliance have emerged due to Berlin's adherence to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia, which the US and Eastern European nations have strongly criticized, as well as its reluctance to send arms to Ukraine.
Ahead of Scholz's meeting with Biden, a high-ranking US government official stressed the importance of Germany in efforts to address the Ukraine crisis.
"We have been engaged very closely with our German partners, including the new German administration, over the two months since they've taken office," the official said in a phone call with journalists.
She added that Washington was working with Berlin "very closely" on the sanctions that would be put in place if Russia were to invade Ukraine.
The US administration has previously said that Nord Stream 2, which is not yet in operation, could be used as leverage against Moscow.
"Germany continues to be an important member of the trans-Atlantic alliance, with all of us working together to address different parts of the same problem," the US official said.
"I absolutely think that our countries are unified in terms of awareness of the risk of further Russian aggression to Ukraine," she added.
However, while the official made it clear that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would spell the end of Nord Stream 2 from the US point of view, it remained unclear whether Berlin had made a similar commitment.
"We are prepared to take all necessary steps together with our allies," Scholz told the Washington Post shortly before his trip, on being asked whether Germany would suspend the pipeline's commissioning if Russia were to invade. He did not specify Berlin's position further.
Scholz's visit marks the start of a diplomatic offensive by Germany, culminating in his trip to Kiev and then Moscow next week.
Before that, a meeting with the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia is planned in Berlin, as well as talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The talks with Macron and Duda are scheduled for Tuesday, a government spokesperson told reporters in Berlin.
Leaders throughout Europe are intensifying their diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions after Russia massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders.
The build-up has sparked concerns that the Kremlin could be planning to invade its neighbour, a former Soviet republic. Moscow denies having any such intentions.
Other observers have said the Russian side is seeking to stir up fears in order to persuade NATO to make concessions.
