Biden and Scholz could also touched on concerns that China may provide lethal aid to Russia, a senior administration official said.
The Biden administration is sounding out close allies about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia, US officials and other sources said. China has denied considering such assistance, and US officials have not publicly provided evidence for their suspicions.
Asked by reporters whether potential sanctions against China would be a topic for Biden and Scholz, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said “the issue of a third party support to Russia could come up.”
INTERNATIONAL CHILL
The year-long conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions, pulverised Ukrainian cities, shaken the global economy and created a Cold War chill in international relations.
Russia says its “special military operation” aims to degrade the Ukrainian military and remove what it says is a threat to its own security. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to grab territory.
Just before Russia’s invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met to seal a “no limits” partnership between their countries that has caused anxiety in the West.
At the G20 foreign ministers meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end the war and urged Moscow to reverse its suspension of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) on nuclear weapons, a senior US official said.
It was the first in person encounter between the top diplomats since the invasion. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke “on the move” for less than 10 minutes.
Russia accused the West of blackmail and threats and said it had China’s support for its position as the meeting ended without a joint statement.
Speaking at a forum in the Indian capital on Friday, Blinken said Russia cannot be allowed to wage war with impunity, otherwise it would send “a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they may be able to get away with it too.”
Source: CNA
