NATO acknowledged Thursday that it has seen signs that China’s regime is considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing not to take such a step.
The announcement came days after the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenwarned China of the consequences if it provided material support to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We have not seen any lethal aid supplies from China to Russia, but We have seen signs that they are considering and may be planning that.”said the secretary general of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenbergto the news agency Reuters In an interview.
“That is why the United States and other allies have been very clear, warning against it. And China, of course, should not support Russia’s illegal war, ”he added.
There was no immediate comment from China, but its foreign ministry said earlier on Thursday that any possible information about arms transfers from China to Russia that the United States plans to release is just speculation.
Moscow and Beijing signed an “unlimited” partnership in February last yearshortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and its economic ties have boomed as Russian connections with the West have withered.
The West has been wary of China’s response to the Ukraine war, with some officials warning that a Russian victory could influence the actions of the Xi Jinping regime towards Taiwan.
Beijing came out to deny the versions. China puts forward a position that claims to be pacifist but remains ambiguous: it has refused to criticize Russia for its actions or even call them an invasion in deference to Moscow; at the same time, insists that the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all nations.
Stoltenberg said that the Asian giant is a member of the UN Security Council and that Russia’s war against Ukraine violates the UN Charter.
“The basic principle of that Charter is to respect the integrity of other nations and not to march and invade another country with hundreds of thousands of troops,” he said. “Of course, China should not be a part of that.”
Ukrainian President, Volodimir Zelenskywarned China on Monday against supporting Russia, saying doing so would spark a world war.
“It is important for us that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war. In fact, I would like him to be on our side,” Zelensky told the German newspaper. Die Welt. “At the moment, however, I don’t think it’s possible.”
“But I do see an opportunity for China to make a pragmatic assessment of what is happening here,” he added. “Because if China allies with Russia, there will be a world war, and I think China is aware of that.”
The United States warned China on Wednesday that there will be “consequences” if it further deepens relations with Russia. The Pentagon’s message was given after, the day before, the head of Xi Jinping’s diplomacy, wang yimet in Moscow with the president Vladimir Putin.
As a result of that meeting, in which the leaders pointed out “the cooperation in the international arena between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation” for its “great importance for the stability of the international situation”, the spokeswoman for the Department of Defense American Sabrina Singh mentioned in a press conference that Xi Jinping risks a miscalculation if he continues to back Russia.
“This is a war that Russia has launched against Ukraine. We are coming up on the one-year anniversary just at the end of this week, and it would certainly be a miscalculation for China to provide lethal aid to Russia,” she stated.
Nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, new questions are being raised about China’s possible willingness to offer military aid to Moscow in the deepening conflict.
(With information from Reuters)
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Source-www.infobae.com