China announces a peace plan for Ukraine in Munich, but at the same time is probably considering supplying arms to Russia. The US Secretary of State said so after a secret meeting with Beijing’s top diplomats. Blinken’s warning to Moscow’s most important partner is more than clear.
China is considering supplying arms to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Any arms delivery to Moscow would cause “serious problems,” Blinken warned on CBS television. “The concern we have now based on the information we have is that they are considering providing lethal support,” Blinken said, referring to China. When asked what such “deadly support” entailed, the foreign secretary said “everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves”.
US President Joe Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping against arms deliveries to Russia last March, Blinken told ABC. Since then, China has been careful “not to cross that line,” US officials said. Blinken met with China’s highest-ranking foreign politician Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. According to his ministry, Blinken warned of “consequences” in the event that Beijing provides Russia with “material support” in the Ukraine war or helps to circumvent Western sanctions.
China is Russia’s main remaining partner, which has been largely isolated internationally since its invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. In Munich at the weekend, Wang announced a Chinese peace initiative in the Ukraine war. Beijing will present the plan on February 24, Wang said simply. China supports peace talks between Kiev and Moscow. He did not give any further details. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba said of the peace plan that “it makes no sense to deal with it before we see it”.
Prominent Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, who was part of the US delegation to the Munich Security Conference, described possible Chinese arms sales to Russia as a serious mistake. He was more certain than ever that Ukraine would emerge from the war undefeated, he said. Helping Moscow with arms now is like buying a ticket for the already sinking Titanic.
