War in Ukraine: China denies supplying weapons to Russia | War in Ukraine
The United States suspects China of wanting to supply arms to Russia to support its continued operations in Ukraine. (File photo)
The Chinese government on Monday denied considering supplying arms to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine, accusing Washington of “pouring oil on the fire” by claiming otherwise.
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 Russian invasion. offensive, while repeatedly expressing its support for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions.
After asserting it the day before, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated on Monday, before meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that he feared that China was considering supplying arms to Russia. .
He repeated that he shared these concerns this weekend with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Munich, on the sidelines of the Security Conference.
Statements were labeled as false information on Monday by Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We do not accept the United States pointing fingers at China-Russia relations, let alone exerting pressure and coercion, he said at the conference. a regular press briefing.
“It is the United States, not China, that constantly sends weapons to the battlefield.
—Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
The international community clearly knows who calls for dialogue and fights for peace, and who adds fuel to the fire and encourages the opposition, Wang Wenbin said, calling for support for a Chinese proposal to end to war.
On Saturday, China said it would release a proposal to find a political solution to the war in Ukraine in the coming days.
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.
The head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, told me that they weren't going to do it, they had no intention of doing it, but we will stay vigilant, Borrell said Monday upon arriving in Brussels for a meeting with European Union foreign ministers.
Antony Blinken therefore returned to the subject on Monday.
“The provision of lethal support to Russia to aid in its war of #x27;aggression in Ukraine would have real consequences for our relations with China.
—Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State
This would pose a real problem for China in its relations with many other countries, not just the United States, Mr. Blinken warned.
So we hope that ;they will not go down this road, he concluded.
The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, present in Munich on Saturday, had she too questioned China's flaunted neutrality.
The United States is troubled by the fact that Beijing has deepened its relations with Moscow since the beginning of the war, a- she underlined.
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 VP 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, and stop blaming others and spreading false information, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
China's position on the Ukraine file can be summed up in one sentence, which is to encourage peace and promote dialogue, he insisted.
