Warns China, White House Says Deadly Aid to Russia Has Consequences

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - The United States has explained closed doors, warning that lethal aid from China to Russia will have consequences, although Beijing has not done anything of the sort, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.

"Beijing will have to make its own decisions about what to do next, whether to provide military assistance. But if they do take that step, it will have very big consequences for China", Sullivan said in an interview with the "State of the Union" program on CNN, launched by Reuters on February 26.

In a separate interview on ABC's "This Week", Sullivan said Beijing had not taken that step but had not ruled out doing so either.

US officials have warned their Chinese counterparts privately about what the costs might be, Sullivan said, but he would not elaborate on the private discussions.

The United States and its NATO allies have made great efforts to warn China against such a move in recent days, making public comments about their belief that China is considering providing Russia with lethal equipment.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns also gave his opinion on China on Sunday.

"We believe that China's leadership is considering providing lethal equipment. We also don't see any final decisions having been made, and we see no evidence of actual shipments of lethal equipment", Burns explained on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Separately, Republican Michael McCaul, chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said on "This Week" that US intelligence showed drones were among the deadliest weapons China had considered sending to Russia.