China allegedly asked Russia not to invade Ukraine during the Winter Games, which took place in Beijing. That reports The New York Times. China denies.
Senior Chinese government officials are said to have asked senior Russian government officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The New York Times reported this, citing sources within the Biden administration and a European source. The sources quoted a Western intelligence report.
A source familiar with the case confirmed to Reuters news agency that China had indeed requested this but declined to provide details. The source did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the case.
According to The New York Times, a government official familiar with the information said the report did not necessarily indicate talks of an invasion have taken place between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“The allegations made in those reports are speculation without any basis and are intended to blame and defame China,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in response to The New York Times.
After weeks of warnings from Western leaders, Russia invaded Ukraine from the north, east and south on February 24. That was just days after the end of the Winter Olympics.
The information about the exchange between the Chinese and Russian governments was collected by a Western intelligence agency and is considered credible by government officials assessing it, The New York Times reported.