Russia has asked China for military assistance to Ukraine, including drones, a senior US official said Sunday.
CNN reached out to the Russian embassy in the US for comment, but received no immediate response.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that China’s backing of Russia was a “worry.”
“We are also closely monitoring the extent to which China actually provides any kind of support, material or economic, to Russia. This is our concern. And we told Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from economic sanctions,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the US had made it clear to Beijing that a “large-scale” effort to provide the Kremlin with a workaround for US sanctions “is bound to have consequences.”
“We will not allow this to continue and we will allow Russia to be saved from these economic sanctions from any country anywhere in the world,” he said.
Sullivan is due to meet his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday.
Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Penyu told CNN Sunday he had not heard of Russia’s request.
“I have never heard about that. China is deeply concerned and saddened by the situation in Ukraine. We sincerely hope that the situation will improve and peace will return soon,” Penyu said. “The current situation in Ukraine is really worrisome. It is necessary to make every effort to support Russia and Ukraine in advancing negotiations, despite the difficult situation, in order to achieve a peaceful outcome. We support and encourage all efforts that contribute to a peaceful resolution of the crisis. “Now the paramount task is to prevent the escalation or even out of control of the tense situation. There is a consensus on this issue among the international community, including the parties concerned.”
“China calls for maximum restraint and prevention of a major humanitarian crisis. China has taken the initiative to respond to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. China has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and will continue to do so,” Pengyu said.
The White House said last week that China is “compliant with the requirements that have been put in place” regarding sanctions.
“Our assessment right now is that (China) is in compliance, but we will continue to encourage any country to think hard about what role they want to play in history as we all look back,” White’s spokeswoman said. home of Jen Psaki at a press conference on Wednesday.