EU to pressure China over drones for Russia, warns of ‘consequences’ – Politico

The EU will press Beijing for answers over reports that a Chinese company is producing military drones for use in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a senior EU official was quoted as saying by Politico on Friday. UNN.

Details

“We received reports from intelligence sources about the existence of a factory in China that produces drones that are supplied to Russia,” said a senior EU official.

The official said the EU should determine whether Beijing knew about the firm’s activities and whether the production of the drones was “direct cooperation in the field of military equipment between China and Russia.”

“If we finally confirm that the transfer of drones[from China to Russia]is taking place, there will be consequences,” the official added, declining to elaborate on what those consequences might be. [зКитаюдоросії”тоцематименаслідки”-додавчиновниквідмовившисьроз’яснитиякимиможутьбутицінаслідки

The comments, which came more than a month after Reuters first reported the drone factory, hint at a tougher stance toward China following Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, the newspaper said.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky called on EU countries to support Trump’s policy towards China.

“China’s drone production is set to be high on the agenda when European foreign ministers meet in Brussels next week,” three diplomats said.

“Obviously, we will have to watch very carefully whether China moves away from its position of neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict, which it has publicly held until now,” said one EU diplomat.

Beijing claims that it is “not a party” to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

While EU officials and diplomats did not elaborate on what action might be taken, one option being considered is adding more Chinese companies to the list of third-country firms subject to EU sanctions, according to a second EU diplomat.

The EU may introduce sanctions against China for supplying Russia with weapons for use against Ukraine – mass mediaNovember 15 2024, 18:06 • 25564 views

The EU previously imposed sanctions against Iran for the production of weapons for Russia, but not against China, the publication notes. A senior EU official said Brussels would follow the same procedure for China as it does for Iran.

When asked what the EU needs to find out before taking further action, the official said that the bloc is trying to determine whether the plant’s products were aimed at Russia, whether drones were supplied to Russia and whether the Chinese authorities knew about the firm’s activities.

The official added that “it is hard to believe that this was done without knowledge.”