Lindsey Graham said it would be incredibly stupid of China to give Vladimir Putin deadly weapons to use in Ukraine

Sen. Lindsey Graham.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

• Lindsey Graham said it would be “dumber than dirt” for China to support Putin with guns.

• “It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after seeing the movie,” Graham said.

• Graham’s comments came after Antony Blinken said China may want to give Putin deadly weapons.

GOP Senator Lindsey Graham said it would be foolish of China to give Russian President Vladimir Putin weapons to use in Ukraine.

“And for the Chinese, if you jump on the Putin train now, you’re dumber than dirt. It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after seeing the movie. Don’t do that,” Graham told host Martha Raddatz on Sunday’s episode of ABC’s This Week.

Graham commented on Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken’s warning on Sunday that the Chinese could be on the verge of providing “deadly support” to Russia in the Ukraine war. Such a move would be the “most disastrous” thing that could happen to US-China relations, Graham said.

“That would change everything forever,” Graham said.

During his appearance on ABC, he also called on the US to “name Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism” to ensure China would be sanctioned if it supplied weapons to Russia. The US currently lists Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism, but not Russia.

Graham also advocated that the US start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets.

“Don’t worry about provoking Putin. Worried about hitting him,” Graham replied to Raddatz’s question about whether handing over F-16 jets and long-range missiles to Ukraine would be considered a provocation by Russia.

“And I’ve never been more optimistic about winning this war in Ukraine than I am now. I see solidarity across the aisle in America and across the seas,” Graham said.

Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Graham’s hawkish stance on China and Ukraine comes after warnings from Blinken and a strong statement from Harris

Blinken told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that the US was “very concerned” that China “may consider providing lethal support to Russia.” Blinken also reiterated warnings the Biden administration has given Beijing since the war began.

“China is trying to have it both ways. In public, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine,” Blinken told NBC.

“But privately, as I said, in recent months we have already seen the deployment of non-lethal aid that goes directly in support and support of the Russian war effort,” he added. “And some other information we are sharing today, which I think will be released soon, suggests that they are seriously considering providing lethal aid to Russia.”

On Saturday, Vice President Kamala Harris made a formal statement against Russia at the Munich Security Conference, accusing the country of crimes against humanity.

Also on Saturday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the Munich Security Conference that while China was not “directly” involved in the Ukraine war, it was “not standing idly by.” Wang added that China will soon present a peace plan to find a way to end the war.

“We need to think calmly, especially our friends in Europe, what efforts should be made to end warfare, what framework there should be to bring lasting peace to Europe, what role Europe should play in order to ensure its strategic autonomy demonstrate,” Wang said, per Politico.

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