The Ukrainian president declared on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy that his Chinese counterpart assured him that he would not sell arms to Vladimir Putin.
Chinese President Xi Jinping “gave me his word” that Beijing would not sell weapons to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday during a joint press conference with Joe Biden.
“I had a telephone conversation with the leader of China. He said he would not sell arms to Russia. We will see,” he said on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy. “He gave me his word,” he added.
A loan of 50 billion dollars
G7 leaders welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky with open arms in Italy on Thursday, announcing a $50 billion loan and an agreement to use frozen Russian assets to help kyiv defend itself, proving, according to the US president, that the West “don’t back down” from Vladimir Putin.
“We have reached a political agreement to provide additional financial support to Ukraine of around $50 billion by the end of the year,” said the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, whose country ensures this year the rotating presidency of the G7.
This agreement shows Russian President Vladimir Putin that we are “not going backwards,” said American President Joe Biden.
A conference on peace in Ukraine this weekend
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his allies for this aid while calling on them to “accelerate” their deliveries of weapons and ammunition.
“We are still looking for additional Patriot (air defense systems),” he recalled. “I also ask you to do everything to accelerate our transition to the (American fighter) F-16, which means accelerating pilot training,” he said.
NATO admitted on Thursday that it was struggling to find new anti-aircraft defense systems to deliver to kyiv.
“I have no announcement to make on the Patriot batteries today” Thursday, admitted the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels with his counterparts from the Atlantic Alliance.
Volodymyr Zelensky will then travel to Switzerland for a “Conference on Peace in Ukraine” which will bring together more than 90 countries and organizations on Saturday and Sunday, but neither Russia nor China.
