China must decide if it really wants to help Putin kill Ukrainians - Kirby

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said this in an interview with Voice of America.

The journalist asked John Kirby about a possible US response to China's transfer of lethal weapons to Russia, and the US official said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had personally warned his Chinese counterpart. And “China has not removed this issue from the agenda.”

“China has to make a choice. Does it really want to side with Russian President Putin? Does it really want to help Putin kill innocent Ukrainians? Because that's what such a step would look like. And if China cares about its international reputation, one would assume that it would consider this to be not in its interests,” the US official said.

• The day before, the White House said that it had made it clear to China behind closed doors that it would face serious consequences if it provided lethal aid to Russia.