CIA chief says China is considering supplying weapons to Russia

CIA chief says China is considering supplying weapons to Russia

The US intelligence service CIA is certain that China is considering supplying weapons to Russia. CIA Director Bill Burns said in a Saturday interview with CBS News. “We are confident that China’s leadership is considering the delivery of deadly equipment.”

Burns did say that the CIA also sees that a final decision has not yet been made and that they see no evidence of actual shipments of “lethal equipment”.

By sharing the information, the US government wants to influence China’s decision, Burns confirmed in the interview. He also called China’s possible arms supplies to Russia a “very risky and ill-advised gamble” by Chinese President Xi.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that the Americans have information that shows that China is considering supplying Russia with weapons. Beijing reacted strongly to Blinken’s statements.

China sees itself as a neutral party in the war, but Western countries think otherwise. On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution calling on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine. China again abstained from voting, as it did in October last year. Then the General Assembly passed a similar resolution after Russia annexed areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Read also: China cannot convince Europe of its neutrality