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hina requested Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine till after the Winter Olympics, a US official mentioned, in response to stories.
Senior Chinese language officers made the request in early February, citing a Western intelligence report, The New York Instances reported.
The intelligence report reportedly indicated China had some stage of data about Russia’s plans or intentions to invade Ukraine, previous to Vladimir Putin launching the navy operation.
A supply accustomed to the matter confirmed to Reuters that China had made the request however declined to offer particulars.
However China has denied the claims saying they have been “meant to blame-shift” onto them.
“The claims talked about within the related stories are speculations with none foundation, and are meant to blame-shift and smear China,” mentioned Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese language Embassy in Washington.
The US State Division, the CIA and the White Home Nationwide Safety Council didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Russia launched the assault on February 24, simply days after the Beijing Winter Olympics had ended.
Russian chief Putin and China’s Xi Jinping met in the beginning of the video games on February 4.
In the course of the assembly, the pair pledged their alliance and mentioned they needed to collaborate extra in opposition to Western powers.
The intelligence on the alternate between the Chinese language and Russian officers was collected by a Western intelligence service and was thought of credible by officers reviewing it, The New York Instances mentioned.
Bonny Lin, a China knowledgeable on the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research suppose tank, mentioned it was unclear how a lot Xi knew about Putin’s intentions.
She famous China had been to gradual to evacuate residents from Ukraine which urged it was not absolutely ready.
“Given the proof we have now to this point, I believe we are able to’t rule out both risk undoubtedly – that Xi didn’t know (which is unhealthy) and that Xi could have identified (which can also be unhealthy),” she mentioned.
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