Accusations that go wrong. Washington indicated on Sunday February 19 that Beijing was considering supplying arms to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine. Immediate China response. The Chinese government has denied the US accusations and accused the US of “throwing fuel on the fire” with these statements. A few days before February 24, a year after the start of the Russian invasion, Western pressure is mounting on China, which has never publicly supported or criticized the offensive, while repeatedly expressing its support for Moscow. in the face of Western sanctions.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that China was considering supplying arms to Russia, following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Munich on the sidelines of the security conference. Statements qualified as “false information” on Monday by Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, the delivery of arms by China to Russia would constitute a “red line” for the European Union.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi “told me they weren’t going to do it, they had no intention of doing it, but we will remain vigilant,” Borrell said. on Monday upon his arrival in Brussels for a meeting with European Union foreign ministers.
On CBS on Sunday, Blinken said he spoke in his interview with his counterpart “about the Russian-led war and the concerns that [they have] that China is planning to provide lethal support to the Russia”. Asked what that would mean concretely, the head of the American diplomacy answered: “Mainly weapons. »
Blinken warned of “the implications and consequences” for China if it were found to be providing “material support” to Russia in its war in Ukraine or helping it evade Western sanctions, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in reporting on the interview.
The American vice-president, Kamala Harris, present in Munich on Saturday, had also questioned the neutrality displayed by China.
“Any move by China to provide lethal support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue the killings, and further undermine a rules-based order,” the vice president warned.
“We call on the United States to seriously reflect on its own actions and do more to calm the situation, promote peace and dialogue, stop blaming others and spreading false information,” the doorman said on Monday. -speaker of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “China’s position on the Ukraine file can be summed up in one sentence, which is to encourage peace and promote dialogue,” he insisted.
