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• National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan seeks call with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev to warn against using chemical and biological weapons
• National Security Advisor and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi met for six hours in Rome to discuss various issues
The United States has warned its European allies that Russia asked China for armed drones in late February as it was starting its so-called "special military operations" into Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The request has worried the U.S. government seeking to prevent China — Russia's most potent diplomatic partner — from coming to aid Moscow in the war, the report said.
Officials from Washington conveyed their concerns regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's request for military equipment from Beijing for its war in Ukraine in a bilateral meeting with China's top diplomats.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese Communist Party member Yang Jiechi met for six hours on Monday in Rome to discuss various issues.
Bloomberg said a U.S. official declined to say whether the request for military aid came up during the meeting.
However, Yang afterwards called on all sides to exercise restraint in the conflict.
When the news outlet asked about the drone request, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Monday night referred to an earlier statement from Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian.
"The U.S. has been maliciously spreading disinformation targeting China," Zhao said. "We have been playing a constructive part in promoting peace talks."
Worries about chemical and biological weapons
The Biden administration has sought to persuade China to use its influence with Russia to help end a conflict that has entered its third week.
The president's top advisers have pressured China to enforce sanctions on Russia's economy imposed by the U.S. and its allies.
Sullivan is also seeking to call Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, to directly warn the Kremlin not to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. Bloomberg reported citing two people familiar with the planning.
However, the news report mentioned that the call had not yet been scheduled.
"There is an escalating level of rhetoric on the Russian side trying to accuse the Ukrainians and the United States of potentially using chemical and biological weapons," Sullivan said Sunday on CBS.
"That's an indicator that, in fact, the Russians are getting ready to do it, and try and pin the blame elsewhere. And nobody should fall for that."
Picture Credit: Asia Times