German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned that there will be “consequences” if China sends weapons to Russia for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but is optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so.
Schultz’s statements came in an interview with CNN broadcast Sunday, two days following he met US President Joe Biden in Washington.
Before his visit to Washington, Scholz urged Beijing not to send weapons to Russia and instead use its influence to pressure Moscow to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Asked by CNN if he expects sanctions once morest China if Russia helps, Schultz replied: “I think it will have consequences, but we are now at a stage where we are making it clear that this should not happen, and I am relatively optimistic that we will succeed in our request.” In this case, but we will have to monitor that and we have to remain very vigilant.”
Schultz did not explain the nature of the consequences, according to the “Associated Press”.
On his return to Germany, Scholz was asked following his cabinet meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen whether he had obtained concrete evidence from the United States regarding China’s intention to send arms and whether he would support sanctions once morest Beijing if it helped arm Russia.
The advisor replied: “We all agree that there should be no arms shipments, and the Chinese government has stated that it will not provide anything. This is what we demand and monitor.”
In the same vein, von der Leyen said: “We don’t have evidence of that yet, but we have to watch for it every day.”
She explained that the question regarding the European Union imposing sanctions on China for providing military aid to Russia is “a hypothetical question that cannot be answered unless it becomes a reality.”
American concern
The White House spokesman announced Thursday that the United States has “no indications” that China has made the decision to provide weapons to Russia, and this possibility “remains on the table.”
John Kirby said during a press conference at the White House that: “We believe that this decision will not be in the interest of China and its international reputation,” adding, “We have expressed our concern to the Chinese.”
The United States has warned China once morest providing lethal military support to Russia, which experts say would be a game-changer in the conflict in Ukraine, now in its second year.
Beijing strongly denied the allegations, which were initially made by the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
