The United States (US) on Sunday warned China against providing Russia with economic and military assistance to circumvent Western sanctions over the’ invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview with CNN, White House National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan confirmed that Washington is keeping a close eye on Beijing, which has been criticised for not taking a harsher stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine. He affirmed that the US is ready to impose major consequences on anyone that tries to help Russia evade Western sanctions, particularly China. Sullivan emphasised, “We will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions.”
So in the past few days, Russia:
— Nigel Gould-Davies (@Nigelgd1) March 13, 2022
1. waiving usual standards to recruit for combat in Ukraine
2. seeking to recruit thousands of Syrian mercenaries
3. asking China for help.
Each one spells trouble. Together, they spell desperation. https://t.co/eS6QFvGwGy
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in the US, dismissed reports about Russia requesting assistance from China, saying, “I’ve never heard of that.” Pengyu reiterated China’s concern for the situation in Ukraine, adding that Beijing’s priority right now is to provide Kyiv with humanitarian support and deter the overall situation from “getting out of control.”
During his interview, Sullivan also claimed that China was aware of Putin’s plan to invade Ukraine, but failed to understand its scope. “It’s very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others,” he added. In fact, Western intelligence reports suggest that senior Chinese officials had in early February urged their Russian counterparts to delay their invasion of Ukraine until after the completion of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Putin says Russia is going to recruit “volunteers” to fight against Ukraine and “help them make it to the combat zone.”
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 11, 2022
Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, says the most “volunteers” are from the Middle East, where 16,000 people apparently want to fight for Donetsk and Luhansk. pic.twitter.com/8aur4Wt8JC
Sullivan made it clear that Washington has communicated its concerns and warning to Beijing ahead of his upcoming meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Rome. The meeting is supposedly an extension of the talks between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that took place last November. According to the White House, the two sides will also discuss the “impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security.”
Last week, the US condemned Russia and China for spreading “outright lies” about a supposed chemical and biological attack in Ukraine by Washington and Kyiv. The US instead claimed that Russia is planning a false flag attack in Ukraine using chemical weapons and called out China for endorsing Russian propaganda.
#Syria#Hama
— Levant 24 (@Levant_24_) March 13, 2022
Nabeel al-Abdallah, a loyalist leader of a Christian militia from Suqaylbiya has announced awaiting #Ukraine deployment orders from "The wise Syrian and #Russia|n leadership. We will show them things never seen before". pic.twitter.com/8l05G0PLmi
Russia opened 14 recruitment centers in Syria – Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zur – recruiting thousands of fighters for its war against Ukraine. There is also info about similar activity in Libya.
— Anastasiia Lapatina (@lapatina_) March 13, 2022
Meanwhile, President Putin hinted at recruiting foreign “volunteers” in retaliation to Ukraine’s use of Western “mercenaries.” During a Security Council meeting, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Russia had received a large number of requests from foreigners who want to take part in the “liberation movement” of Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Shoigu added that 16,000 requests had come from the Middle East alone, including from countries that have previously helped Russia fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
So.... Russia is bringing Islamic militants from Syria to Europe in order to kill Ukrainian Christians...and Viktor Orban and his acolytes remain silent? Didn't they say they needed autocratic governments in order to prevent exactly that?
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) March 12, 2022
Reports suggest that the Syrian military has started recruiting from within its ranks to help Russian forces fight Ukrainians. Even though Putin has denied providing any financial remuneration to foreign fighters, according to The Guardian, Russia is offering them an “employee contract,” under which they can earn up to $3,000 a month—50 times the salary provided to a Syrian soldier.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s TV channel just shared this footage of Syrian combatants ready to “volunteer” in Ukraine. (Putin moments ago endorsed such deployments, claiming that the West is openly sending mercenaries.) pic.twitter.com/ouCfjAcSde
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 11, 2022
Against this backdrop, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called out Putin for sending “reservists and conscripts from all over Russia to throw them into the hell of war” while also criticising him for sending “thugs from Syria” to fight against Ukraine.