China hasn\u2019t moved forward in providing aid, but neither has Beijing taken that option off the table, Sullivan say
\n WASHINGTON
\nChina has not moved toward providing lethal aid that would help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and the United States has made clear behind closed doors that such a move would have serious consequences, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
\n\u201cBeijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds, whether it provides military assistance, but if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China,\u201d Sullivan said in an interview with CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union\u201d program.
\nChina has not moved forward in providing that aid, but neither has Beijing taken that option off the table, Sullivan said in a separate interview on ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week\u201d program.
\nUS officials have warned their Chinese counterparts behind closed doors about what those costs might be, Sullivan said, but he would not elaborate on those private discussions.
\nThe United States and its NATO allies have been scrambling to warn China against such a move in recent days, making public comments on their belief that China is considering providing lethal equipment to Russia.
\nCIA Director William Burns also weighed in regarding China on Sunday.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment. We also don\u2019t see that a final decision has been made yet, and we don\u2019t see evidence of actual shipments of lethal equipment,\u201d Burns told the CBS program \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d
\nRepublican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said on \u201cThis Week\u201d that the US intelligence shows drones are among the lethal weapons China has considered sending to Russia.
\nUS President Joe Biden visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last Monday, promising new military aid for Ukraine worth $500 million. Last week marked the first anniversary of Russia\u2019s invasion. The United States has been by far the largest supplier of military assistance to help Ukraine repel better-equipped Russian forces. Ukraine expects a major new Russian offensive soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China hasn\u2019t moved forward in providing aid, but neither has Beijing taken that option off the table, Sullivan say WASHINGTON China has not moved toward providing lethal aid that would help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and the United States has made clear behind closed doors that such a move would have serious consequences, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-316206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n