Russia-Ukraine War: Pres. Joe Biden Warns China’s XI Jinping of 'Consequences' in Aiding Russia
Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, President Joe Biden has spoken with China's Xi Jinping for nearly two hours, trying to dissuade the Chinese official from aiding Moscow.
The White House said the U.S. president discussed with Xi on Friday the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia, according to The Guardian.
A senior administration official noted that there would be consequences, "not just for China's relations with the United States, but for the wider world."
However, the official did not provide details on whether Joe Biden went into specifics on possible sanctions, other than to cite Russia as an example.
"The president really laid out in a lot of detail the unified response from governments around the world and the private sector to Russia's brutal aggression in Ukraine," the official said.
The senior official further noted that Joe JoeBiden made it clear that there would likely be consequences for those who would step in to support Russia this time.
The president did not make any direct requests to Xi to persuade Putin to end the attack. The official said Biden only laid out his assessment of the situation and the possible consequences of certain actions.
The official added that in their view, China would make its own decisions.
Joe Biden Speaks With Xi Jinping as China Seems to Back Russia Amid Russia-Ukraine War
White House officials have raised concerns this week about China's offer of assistance to Russia. It would possibly undercut efforts by the U.S. and Europe to put pressure on Russia's President Vladimir Putin to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
China has avoided condemning Putin's attack on Ukraine or calling it an invasion. However, NBC reported that Chinese officials had expressed concern for the humanitarian situation and called for a peaceful resolution.
Chinese officials have blamed the U.S. for the Russia-Ukraine crisis, noting that Western countries should respect Russia's "legitimate security concerns."
China has also heightened a Russian conspiracy theory that the U.S. is funding chemical and biological weapons development in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Xi Jinping said the top priorities now are to continue dialogue and negotiations while avoiding civilian casualties, preventing a humanitarian crisis, and cease fighting to end the war as soon as possible, according to CBC News.
A Chinese media also quoted Xi saying in the call that the Ukraine crisis is not something that China wants to see. The Chinese leader also warned against sanctions.
Russia-Ukraine War
On Thursday afternoon, Vladimir Putin talked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan via a phone call, telling the Turkish leader what Russia's exact demands were for a peace deal with Ukraine.
One of the demands includes that Ukraine should be neutral and should not apply to join NATO. According to the BBC, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already conceded this.
Another demand of the Russian leader is for Ukraine to undergo a disarmament process to ensure that it was not a threat to Russia.
In addition, there would have to be protection for the Russian language in Ukraine, and there's something called "de-Nazification." Zelenskyy is Jewish, and this is deeply offensive to him and to some of whose relatives died in the Holocaust.
Putin also wanted to have a face-to-face negotiation with Zelenskyy. The Ukraine president has already said that he is prepared to meet Putin and negotiate with him one-to-one.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Joe Biden Speaks With Chinese President Xi Jinping | ABCNL - From ABC News