A US official has been briefing reporters on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s comments about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia on Sunday.
The US official said Li spoke at length about China’s views on the war, and condemned the “irresponsibility of nuclear threats”. Putin has repeatedly hinted at a readiness to use nuclear weapons.
The unnamed US official said that despite China’s allyship with Russia there was clear “discomfort in Beijing” over Russia’s rhetoric.
“I think it is also undeniable that China is probably both surprised and even a little embarrassed by the conduct of the Russian military operations,” the US official said.
Meanwhile the Financial Times quotes a Chinese official as saying that Putin did not tell Xi that Russia was about to invade Ukraine when the two leaders met in February to seal a “friendship without limits”.
“Putin didn’t tell Xi the truth,” the unnamed Chinese official told the newspaper.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to attend the G20, but the war and its global impact are a major concern at the summit.
Source: BBC