Joe Biden said Friday from Ottawa that China was “not supplying arms to Russia” at the time, despite fears expressed by Westerners.
• Also read: Four dead in Russian attacks east and south
“It’s been three months now since I heard that China will supply important arms to Russia… That doesn’t mean they won’t do it, but they didn’t,” he said during a speech by the American president’s trip to its Canadian neighbor.
“I don’t take China lightly. I don’t take Russia lightly,” he added, adding that reports of their rapprochement were likely “exaggerated.”
Conversely, Joe Biden insisted on increased ties between Westerners. “If anything has happened, it’s that the West has tightened considerably,” he said, speaking of a “united” coalition.
For their part, during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow this week, Russians and Chinese hailed the entry into a “new era” of their “special relationship.”
But while the Chinese leader promised moral support and a commercial lifeline, he refrained from supplying weapons to Russian soldiers serving in Ukraine, which could have led to Western sanctions against his country.
Nor has there been a long-term commitment to buying large quantities of Russian gas, whose exports to Europe have plummeted, leaving a gaping hole in Russia’s finances.