The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned on Tuesday that there “will be a world war” if China sends “lethal aid” to Russia and sides with Vladimir Putin.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi that there will be “serious consequences” if they side with Putin and provide sophisticated weaponry to Russia.
On Tuesday Zelensky told German daily newspaper Die Welt, “I would like [China] to be on our side. At the moment, however, I don’t think it’s possible.
“But I do see an opportunity for China to make a pragmatic assessment of what is happening here. If China aligns itself with Russia, there will be a world war and I do think that China is aware of that.”
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China has denied claims that they will send weapons to Russia following the US intelligence claims.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “It is the United States and not China that is endlessly shipping weapons to the battlefield,’
“We urge the United States to earnestly reflect on its own actions, and do more to alleviate the situation, promote peace and dialogue, and stop shifting blame and spreading false information.”
Downing Street today also issued a warning to China not to side with Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
Asked over US intelligence reports suggesting China could send “lethal aid,” the British Prime Minister’s official spokesman said, “I obviously can’t get into intelligence. But certainly the UK and US share assessments regularly, as you would expect.
“On this specific issue, any support for Putin’s brutal and illegal war against Ukraine is deplorable.
“We expect China to stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
A defence expert said that Putin “really went for it” in his speech and the Russia leader left “no chink of diplomatic elbow room” for negotiations.
Defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke said that Putting believes the so called “special military operation” in Ukraine is “actually part of a war that the West is waging against Russia to destroy it.”
Professor Clarke told Sky News, “Putin said Russia has tried to negotiate, but the West has always got a secret agenda.
“For him, this is the beginning of a third world war.”
The Russian people are making huge sacrifices as Putin’s invasion has not gone to plan in they way he believed it might.
Professor Clarke added, “Those sacrifices can only be justified if the war is about something bigger than Ukraine, and so it’s a war for survival.
“We’ve heard all this before, but you put it all together in a fairly coherent narrative, and it leaves no room whatsoever for discussion.”
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