The Joe Biden administration is considering releasing intelligence that it says shows China is weighing whether to supply Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine.
Source: newspaper Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources in the White House
Details: According to the WSJ interlocutors, China has so far behaved cautiously, mainly limiting itself to buying oil from the Russian Federation, but now the Chinese leadership is considering whether to abandon this approach.
According to US and allied intelligence, there is much less uncertainty about how China can help Russia, the newspaper writes. However, according to intelligence estimates, Beijing has not yet made a decision on the supply of weapons to the Russian Federation.
It is noted that the discussion of the issue of public disclosure of information about potential plans of China takes place on the eve of the meeting of the UN Security Council, which will be dedicated to the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Background:
- US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Feb. 19 that he was concerned that Beijing was considering strengthening its partnership with Moscow by providing “lethal support” to the Russian military. According to some reports, Blinken raised the issue during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday.
- US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed that China would cross a “red line” if it decides to provide lethal military assistance to Russia in the war against Ukraine.
- On the other hand, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies any intention to provide “lethal support” to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
