The United States warned on Tuesday it would hold China responsible if Moscow made gains in Ukraine after Beijing renewed promises of co-operation during a visit by Russia’s top diplomat, according to The Epoch Times.
Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state, stated that for the United States, maintaining peace and stability in Europe was “our most important mission historically.”
As Russia resumes its offensive in Ukraine amid a stalemate in the US Congress over approval of a $60-billion aid package, Campbell warned that Russian territorial acquisitions could “alter the balance of power in Europe in ways that are, frankly, unacceptable.”
We have told China directly, if this continues, it will have an impact on the US-China relationship. We will not sit by and say everything is fine. We will see this not as just a Russian unique set of activities but a conjoined set of activities backed by China but also North Korea. This is antithetical to our interests.
Campbell was responding to a question about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to China on Tuesday when President Xi Jinping told him that Beijing was ready to reinforce coordination.
The deputy secretary claimed that China was alarmed to see Russia’s first setbacks at the outbreak of the war in 2022 and was working to rebuild “a whole variety of capabilities” for Moscow.
Initially, that was a defensive endeavor. They did not want to see regime change. [But] Russia has almost completely retooled, and they now pose a significant threat going forward to Ukraine.
The US has repeatedly threatened sanctions if China takes more significant action in support of Russia. US officials also accuse Russia of turning to weapons from North Korea and Iran, which are under severe sanctions, too.
