EU's Borrell says there is no evidence China supplies arms to Russia

The European Union's top diplomat has concluded that there is no evidence that China is supplying weapons to Russia, despite accusations against Beijing by the United States.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said in Belgium on Wednesday that China was providing Russia with “all its support behind the scenes.”

“What we have seen from China to Russia is not a case of an isolated case or a few rogue companies involved in supporting Russia,” Campbell said. “This is a sustained and comprehensive effort supported by Chinese leaders that is designed to provide Russia with full support behind the scenes.”

Following Campbell's remarks, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, noted that EU officials had not received any evidence to prove that Chinese weapons were being supplied to the Russia.

“China has pledged not to supply weapons [to Russia] and we have no evidence that this is happening,” Borrell told reporters at the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.

However, Borrell added, some tools and/or components supplied by China to Russia could have dual use, with one of them being military use and/or being used for manufacturing weapons and munitions. .

Borrell said: “There is no clear line between weapons and others, because some things can be dual-use. »

However, he noted that Western countries also supplied components for military use. “But the problem is not just China.”

He further explained that some dual-use components manufactured by Western countries – the United States, European Union member states and the United Kingdom – could be purchased by the Russians and then used for the production of weapons.

China, for its part, denies supplying Russia with arms and ammunition, rejecting accusations against Beijing, while accusing America of sparking the conflict in Ukraine via NATO's expansion to the 'East.

“China has always managed the export of military products prudently and responsibly and strictly controls the export of dual-use items,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

At the same time, China has remained a close trading partner of Russia, with some Chinese companies buying Russian energy and paying for it with machinery and vehicles, amid growing support for the country after its ties were severed. with European countries because of the war in Ukraine.

Along the same lines, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine.

Austin, also speaking at the Shangri-La forum, claimed Saturday that Putin's decision to “illegally invade” the neighboring former Soviet state was the reason the war started.

Russia, for its part, has repeatedly blamed NATO's US-led expansionist policies and its gradual eastward encroachment on the Russian homeland for forcing Moscow to launch its special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.