US says China ‘considering’ sending lethal assistance to Russia

Ankara, Feb 20 (EFE).- The United States on Monday warned that China would face “real consequences” if it were to provide lethal assistance to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

“We are concerned that China is considering supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine with lethal assistance, something that we’re watching very, very closely,” Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, told a press conference in Ankara Monday.

“This would be a real problem for China in its relationship with many other countries, not just the United States,” he added, reiterating a statement he made Sunday in which he claimed the US had “information” that Beijing was considering the move.

Blinken added that US president Joe Biden had warned China’s Xi Jinping against supplying lethal assistance or helping Moscow evade international sanctions.

The US diplomat met with China’s foreign minister Wang Li on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference over the weekend to express his concerns and broach the thorny topic of the alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the US earlier this month.

Beijing on Monday dismissed the US claims.

“It is the US who have been continuously providing weapons to the war,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in his routine press conference Monday.

“Who is working for peace and who is fanning the flames and stoking confrontation, the international community knows clearly,” he added.EFE

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