An intelligence report from Western countries pointed out that the Chinese government asked Russia to wait until the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which ended on February 20, before invading Ukraine.
The information was obtained by the New York Times from senior US government officials and a European government.
According to the American newspaper, the collection of information was classified as confidential and exchanged between high-ranking officials in the governments of Joe Biden and allies as they discussed when Putin could attack Ukraine.
However, it is not known at what level the request would have been made in the talks between Moscow and Beijing – it is not known, for example, whether dictator Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin spoke directly about the matter.
Ahead of the opening of the Beijing Games on February 4, the two leaders met in Beijing and released a document in which they reiterated a “no limits” partnership between the two countries.
The day after the event ended, on February 21, Putin announced the recognition of the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, self-proclaimed by pro-Russian separatists in 2014 in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, and argued that the former Soviet republic it was an artificial state. Three days later, citing the need to demilitarize Ukraine to protect ethnic Russians living in the country, he launched the invasion.
Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington, Liu Pengyu, told the New York Times that the information about the request to delay the invasion was “baseless speculation aimed at blaming and defaming China.”
#China #asked #Russia #wait #Winter #Games #invade #Ukraine #newspaper