Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the Biden administration was concerned that China is considering sending “lethal support” to Russia to aid the war in Ukraine.
Blinken said, “One of the things that I shared with him was a growing concern on our part that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia and its aggression against Ukraine. I made clear, as President Biden has almost from day one with President Xi, that that would have serious consequences in our own relationship. Finally, it was important for me to underscore the importance of having open lines of communication between us in continuing to engage in direct diplomacy. We have a responsibility to manage the relationship responsibly.”
He added, “First of all, from day one, almost quite literally, because President Biden spoke to President Xi a couple of weeks into the Russian aggression back last March and said to him that it would be a deep concern to us if China provided lethal support to Russia or helped in the systematic evasion of sanctions. Part of that going to last March was just a few weeks before President Putin and President Xi had met, and they talked about a partnership with no limits, and we were concerned that no limits might support significant support to Russia and its aggression. We have been watching this very, very closely. For the most part, China has been engaged in providing rhetorical, political, diplomatic support to Russia, but we have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia in the war against Ukraine.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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