Zelensky: Xi Jinping assures China won’t supply weapons to Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised not to supply weapons to Russia. "I spoke with the head of China over the phone. He said that he would not sell weapons to Russia. We'll see. If he is an honourable person, he will not. Because he gave me his word," Zelensky said, during a joint press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Italy.
During the press conference, Volodymyr Zelensky called the security agreement reached between the U.S. and Ukraine an important step towards Ukraine's NATO membership. The agreement "states that the U.S. supports Ukraine's future NATO membership and acknowledges that our security agreement is a bridge to Ukraine's NATO membership," Zelensky emphasized.
UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps accused China on May 22nd of supplying lethal weapons to Russia. "Today I can report that we have evidence of cooperation between Russia and China in the realm of armaments used in Ukraine," Shapps declared.
The governments of Germany and the United States have also warned China against cooperating with Russia to evade sanctions. According to Bloomberg, Beijing is providing Moscow with geospatial intelligence for military purposes, as well as the microelectronics needed for the military-industrial sector, machinery for tank production, and fuel for rockets.