NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has raised concern about the possibility of China providing Russia with weapons to fuel its war in Ukraine.
“Putin must not win. That would show that aggression works and force is rewarded. It would be dangerous for our own security and for the whole world,” he added.
The news conference followed the first-ever trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the European Union, and NATO, represented by the NATO head together with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
According to Stoltenberg, there is no sign that Russia will end the war in Ukraine. He pointed out that Russia has increased force levels, launched fresh offensives, and reached out to other nations like Iran and North Korea for assistance and resources.
He urged NATO allies to fulfill their commitments to provide Ukraine with more equipment and resources.
“So we must sustain and step up our support for Ukraine. We must give Ukraine what they need to win,” Stoltenberg said. “And prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe.”
Meanwhile, Beijing—an ally of Moscow that has refused to condemn Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine and has criticized Western sanctions on Russia—has denied that it is sending weapons or ammunition to Moscow.
US Warning
Stoltenberg’s comments came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned the director of China’s Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, of the consequences should China provide materiel support to Russia. Blinken and Wang met on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich on Feb. 18.Chinese weapons supplies to Russia would risk a potential escalation of the Ukraine war into a confrontation between Russia and China on the one side and Ukraine and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance on the other.
“For the most part, China has been engaged in providing rhetorical, political, [and] 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.
“There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons,” Blinken said, adding that Washington would soon release additional details.
He warned that Beijing’s assistance to Russia would mean “serious consequences” for the U.S.-China relationship.
“We also have to be clear that if there are any thoughts and efforts by the Chinese and others to provide lethal support to the Russians in their brutal attack against Ukraine, that is unacceptable,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
The U.S. top officials’ comments came after reports recently surfaced that Chinese companies have been providing surveillance equipment to Russia’s Wagner Group fighting in Ukraine.
