U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russian aggression toward Ukraine will jeopardize the functioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline during a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press. “If Germany were more open to, essentially, shutting down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, do you think Vladimir Putin would pay more attention?” asked Chuck Todd during Sunday’s interview. “That pipeline … doesn’t have any gas flowing through it right now,” said Blinken. “And, in fact, it’s a source of leverage on Russia, because to the extent President Putin wants to see gas flowing through that pipeline, if and when it becomes operational, it’s very unlikely or hard to see that happening if Russia has renewed its aggression on Ukraine.” This interview comes as Russia amasses troops on its border with Ukraine, now numbering upwards of 120,000 according to Ukrainian intelligence. Whereas previous troop movements along the Ukrainian border …