US President Joe Biden has ruled out that his country will provide Ukraine with F-16 warplanes at the present time, noting at the same time that there is no evidence that China is supplying weapons to Russia.
In an interview with ABC News on Friday, Biden said that the United States is providing Ukraine with the tanks and air defenses it needs, and that it does not need F-16s at present.
He stressed that "at the present time" he refuses to meet the demand of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to supply Kiev with F-16 fighters.
And US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed - in a statement - that "under President Biden's leadership, over the course of a year, the United States provided more than $ 32 billion in security assistance that could change the rules of the game for Ukraine."
This aid did not include the F-16s that Ukraine requested, while Kiev's international allies are debating whether to provide it with fighter jets, after months of debate over modern tanks, which are now heading to Ukraine.
Beijing's support for Moscow
Regarding what was reported about Beijing's support for Moscow with weapons in its war on Ukraine, Biden said that there is no evidence so far that China has provided Russia with weapons.
And the US President added - during the interview - that if China provides Russia with weapons in its war against Ukraine, the United States will respond, "but I do not expect China to do that."
And a spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) Pat Reid confirmed that Washington has not yet monitored China's supply of weapons to Russia.
And Reid added - in a press conference - that Washington also did not monitor Beijing's removal of that option from the table, pointing to the importance of keeping communication channels open with Beijing and Moscow to reduce the occurrence of errors in calculations.
He said that Defense and Foreign Ministers Lloyd Austin and Anthony Blinken warned China of the consequences of supplying weapons to Russia, adding, "This would prolong the conflict and the suffering of the Ukrainian people."
Beijing document
Regarding the document submitted by Beijing to settle the conflict in Ukraine, Biden said that he does not see anything in this plan that "could benefit any party other than Russia," adding that "Putin applauds it. How can it be good?!"
With the passage of a year since the war in Ukraine, the Chinese government - in a document published on Friday - called on both Moscow and Kiev to hold peace talks, and expressed its refusal to resort to nuclear weapons.
And the Chinese Foreign Ministry said - in a document entitled "China's position on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis" - that "all parties should support Russia and Ukraine to move in the same direction and resume direct dialogue between them as soon as possible."