The US assures that China is willing to hand over weapons to Russia

United States informed his allies of the NATO and several Asian countries that China has signaled its readiness to provide military and economic aid to Russiaat the request of Moscow, to support its war in Ukrainesaid a US official, on a day when authorities from Washington and Beijing met in Rome.

The message, sent in a diplomatic cable and delivered in person by intelligence officials, also said China was expected to deny such plans, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met in Rome with China’s chief diplomat, Yang Jiechi, after warning that the Asian nation would face consequences if it helped Russia evade Western sanctions and after reports that Russia had ordered military equipment from China.

Russia denied the reports, stating that it has enough military resources to fulfill all its objectives in Ukraine. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman called the reports “disinformation.”

Russia began its invasion of neighboring Ukraine on February 24, calling it a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” its neighbor. Ukraine and Western allies have described the incursion as an unfounded pretext to justify aggression.

The disclosure of both Russia’s request and China’s response is part of a strategy by US officials to counter disinformation by being much more open than usual on intelligence, the Washington official said.

The diplomatic cable was relatively vague about China’s willingness to provide weapons to Russia, but intelligence officials were expected to share more details during presidential briefings, the source said.

Sullivan said on Sunday that Washington was watching closely to see the extent to which China provided economic or material support to Russia.

“We are communicating directly, in private, to Beijing that there will clearly be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or supporting Russia to counter them,” Sullivan said.