No evidence of China supplying weapons to Russia: Von Der Leyen

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Mar 2023 23:26

When asked if China will sanctioned if evidence was found that China supplies Russia with arms, von der Leyen said it would be addressed "only when it becomes reality."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, for a meeting as part of a two-day closed meeting of the German government at Meseberg palace in Gransee near Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 5, 2023 (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

At a press conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that her office found no evidence from the US that China has been supplying weapons to Russia.

"So far, we have no such evidence, but this needs to be monitored daily," von der Leyen said.

When asked if China will be sanctioned if such a case is confirmed, von der Leyen said it would be addressed "only when it becomes reality."

China-US relations have gone further downhill as Washington is increasingly hyper-militarizing Pacific Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, in the face of Beijing, in addition to its weapons sales to Taiwan and gradually attempting to break the One China policy.

On February 19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that China was considering the provision of arms to Russia in the midst of the Ukraine war, warning that arms supplies from Beijing to Washington would "cause a serious problem."

Beijing has previously denied the allegations via Chinese foreign minister spokesman Wang Wenbin, who stated that China "does not offer any arms deals in any conflict zones or to parties involved in the war. What we have been doing is promoting peace talks."

Earlier today, China revealed that the defense budget this year will be the highest in four years at 1.55 trillion yuan ($225 billion) in reaction to increasing foreign threats against the Asian giant that ranks second after the US in military spending having allocated a staggering budget of over $800 billion this year.