HELSINKI, Aug. 25 - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has cautioned Europe against a new natural gas pipeline planned to stretch from Russia to Germany, saying it "looks like a fairly bad deal" for Europe because it further increases its energy dependency on Moscow, The Associated Press reported.

Biden said Thursday that to lock Europe "into greater reliance on Russia at this moment ... will fundamentally destabilize Ukraine," but stressed that European Union leaders must make their own decisions on the issue.