by Andrea Shalal and Eric Beech
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz on Friday discussed the situation in Ukraine and their shared concern that China is supplying arms to Russia, the White House said after their meeting.
Sitting next to the American president in the Oval Office, the German chancellor once again underlined the importance for the allies to show that they are ready to support Kyiv “as long as it takes”.
Joe Biden praised Olaf Scholz for his decision to increase Germany’s military spending and for ending his country’s dependence on Russian energy.
“As NATO allies, we make our alliance stronger,” insisted the American president after saying he was working closely with Berlin on support for Ukraine. Washington announced Friday a new aid of 400 million dollars relating mainly to the delivery of ammunition.
The two leaders once again called on China not to support Russian aggression militarily, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, adding that Washington has at this stage no evidence to suggest that it is already the case.
Olaf Scholz, whose previous visit to Washington dated from the days before the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, urged Beijing on Thursday not to supply arms to Moscow, instead asking the world’s second largest economy to pressure Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
China denies any intention to supply weapons to Russia. However, she also warned Westerners that they should not “add fuel to the fire”, as they have supported Ukraine with multiple deliveries of military equipment since the start of the conflict.
(Report by Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom; French version Jean Terzian and Tangi Salaün)
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