EU's Borrell says no evidence of China supplying weapons to Russia

The European Union's top diplomat has concluded that there is no evidence pointing to China supplying weapons to Russia despite the accusations leveled against Beijing by the United States.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell claimed in Belgium on Wednesday that China was giving Russia "every support behind the scenes."

"What we've seen from China to Russia is not a one-off or a couple of rogue firms involved in supporting Russia," Campbell said."This is a sustained, comprehensive effort that is backed up by the leadership in China that is designed to give Russia every support behind the scenes."

Following Campbell's remarks, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell noted that EU officials had not received any evidence to prove Chinese arms were being supplied to Russia.

"China has committed not to supply arms [to Russia] and we don't have evidence that this is happening," Borrell said to the reporters at the 3-day Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.

However, Borrell added, there might be some tools and/or components which were being supplied by China to Russia which have dual usages, one of them being military usage, and/or used for the manufacturing of weapons and ammunition.

Borrell said, "There is not a clear border between arms and non-arms because there are things which can be dual-use."

However, he noted Western countries were supplying components with military usages, as well. "But the problem is not only China."

He further explained some dual-use components made by Western countries -- the United States, European Union member states, and United Kingdom -- might be purchased by the Russians and then used for the production of arms.

China, for its part, denies supplying Russia with weapons and munitions, dismissing the accusations against Beijing, while blaming America for igniting the Ukraine conflict via NATO's eastern expansion.

"China has always handled the export of military products in a prudent and responsible way, and strictly controls the export of dual-use articles," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin emphasized.

In the meantime, China has remained a close trade partner to Russia with some Chinese companies buying Russian energy and paying for it with machinery and vehicles amid growing support to the country after its ties with European countries was cut over the war in Ukraine.

In related news, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shifted the blame for the Ukraine war on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Austin, also speaking at the Shangri-La forum, claimed on Saturday that Putin's decision to "unlawfully invade" the neighboring former Soviet state was the reason the war started.

Russia, for its part, has repeatedly blamed the US-led NATO's expansionist policy and gradual eastward encroachment on the Russian motherland for forcing Moscow to launch its special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.

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