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Added on the 24/02/2023 13:00:11 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he raised concerns with China about support for Russia, saying Moscow's invasion of Ukraine depended on Beijing's support. "Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support," Blinken told reporters after his meetings with top leaders in Beijing. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accuses China of "fuelling" Russia's invasion of Ukraine through the transfers of dual use materials and weapons components from Chinese businesses to Russia for use in Moscow's military expansion. "If China purports on the one hand to want good relations with Europe and other countries, it can't on the other hand be fuelling what is the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War," Blinken tells a press conference after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on the Italian island of Capri where he had urged urged his European counterparts to increase pressure on Beijing. SOUNDBITE
Sweden joining NATO shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening the alliance, its chief Jens Stoltenberg says. The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defence umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg adds. SOUNDBITE
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg echoes US concerns that China may supply Russia with weapons to help it pursue its war against Ukraine. "We are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russia's war," the US-led defence alliance's chief says. SOUNDBITE
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants "to use winter as a weapon of war" in his Ukrainian operation, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Bucharest, ahead of a meeting with the alliance's foreign ministers. A weapon based on Russia's attempt "to deprive the Ukrainians of water, electricity, light and heating" says Stoltenberg. SOUNDBITE