China plans to provide ‘lethal support’ to aid Russian invasion of Ukraine, Blinken says

While the attempted Russian takeover of Ukraine approaching his year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News on Saturday that China is actively considering providing lethal support, including weapons and ammunition to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

“We’ve worried about this possibility since day one,” Blinken said in a interview with “Facing the Nation” host Margaret Brennan on Saturday. Pressed on the type of lethal aid China is considering, Blinken spoke in general terms.

“There’s a whole range of things that – that fall into this category, everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves.”

Notably, China’s top foreign policy official Wang Yi told fellow leaders at the Munich security conference this week that China was working on a peace proposal to end the conflict. This public position goes against what the American intelligence services have indicated.

“We have seen them provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine. The concern we have now is based on information we have that they are planning to provide lethal support, and we have made it clear to them that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship.”

Blinken confirmed that Chinese companies are already providing non-lethal support to the Russian effort. He noted the relationship between Chinese companies and the Chinese government, saying: “To date we have seen Chinese companies and of course in China there is really no distinction between private companies and the state. .

Blinken is also in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, an annual event attended by senior leaders from around the world on defence, human security and global order. There, he spoke face to face with Yi about the consequences China would face if it provided weapons, ammunition or any other lethal aid to Russia.

Brennan asked Blinken if Wang had apologized for the Chinese surveillance balloon which was floating above US airspace several weeks ago. Blinken said there were no excuses, but the hour-long meeting was helpful.

“We have to make sure that the competition we’re clearly engaged in doesn’t escalate into conflict,” Blinken said. “But at the same time, we will defend our interests very resolutely.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned at the conference that Beijing is “watching closely to see the price Russia pays – or the reward it receives – for its aggression,” according to Politico.

In the weeks leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint statement declaring a Partnership without limits.

Blinken also said Iran and Russia are expanding military relations.

“We’ve seen Iran supply drones that Russia uses in Ukraine to attack civilian infrastructure, to kill civilians,” Blinken said, adding that Iran’s aid to Russia “has been going on for months.” .

But now Russia can also arm Iran, which is named by the United States as the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

“There is an increasingly harmful relationship between Russia and Iran,” Blinken added. “Russia is also supplying Iran with military hardware, including, it seems, sophisticated fighter jets. This is something that seems to be happening, which would make Iran an even greater threat. , if it acquires that technology. So that’s something that we’ve been discussing with allies and partners around the world. That relationship is a growing concern.

Since the start of the war, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has supported Putin’s military attack on Ukraine, saying the actions were justified because NATO expansion posed a “serious threat” to the stability of the region.

Blinken also commented on Vice President Kamala Harris’ announcement in Munich that the United States had officially determined that Russia had committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

“The determination that — that we have committed crimes against humanity, which the vice president announced today, is unfortunately very clear,” Blinken said. “And we saw that almost from day one. We saw it in Bucha, when the Russian tide went out, we saw what was left in its wake. And it’s horrible. And we continue to see across the country, the fact that they are targeting civilians, targeting civilian infrastructure, so people are freezing to death, not having the lights on.”

President Biden has used the term genocide to refer to Russia’s actions. When asked if the State Department was working on the legal determination of genocide, Blinken replied, “We will consider all possible terminations, but we will follow the facts and we will follow the law. These are very serious acts. determinations, and we will commit to them very seriously. »