The EU still has no evidence that China plans to transfer weapons to Russia

The European Union has yet to see evidence that China plans to supply Russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced this at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, writes Radio Liberty.

Answering the question about sanctions against China in the case of supplying weapons to the Russian Federation, von der Leyen said that this is a "hypothetical question that can be answered only if it becomes a reality and a fact."

According to the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, the Chinese government has assured that it will not arm Russia.

“We all agree that there should be no arms shipments, and the Chinese government has said there will be none. This is what we are demanding and we are following it," he said.

The day before, in an interview with CNN, Scholz promised China consequences if Beijing sends weapons to Russia. He did not specify what exactly the consequences are.

• On February 23, 2023, NATO saw signs that China was "considering and possibly planning" to send weapons to Russia to help it in its war in Ukraine.
• The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, said on February 26 that he is "sure" that China is considering sending weapons to Russia.
• The publication Der Spiegel wrote that Russia is negotiating with China on the delivery of lethal weapons and a batch of a hundred ZT-180 kamikaze drones, which are capable of carrying a warhead weighing from 35 to 50 kg. These drones are similar to Iranʼs Shahed-136.
• The Economist, referring to its own sources, wrote that the Chinese authorities were angry with Russia because information about the negotiations on the supply of weapons ended up in the public space. They wanted any support to remain secret.