China dismissed criticism from the U.S. about its apparent support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday, accusing the U.S. of "fanning the flames" of conflict in the region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin attempted to turn the tables on the U.S. during a Tuesday press briefing after the U.S. accused China of potentially providing lethal aid to Russia. Wang said the U.S. defense industry was profiting from the conflict and compared the situation to the war in Afghanistan.
"U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said that China knows that there would be consequences were China to provide lethal assistance to Russia. But he refused to lay out what the consequences would be if China ignored the warning. What’s your comment?" a reporter asked.
"The U.S. is the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine," Wang responded. "We do not accept the U.S.’s finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations. The U.S. should seriously reflect on what it has done, stop fanning the flames or profiting from it, and stay truly committed to promoting peace talks as China has been doing."
"We all saw what the U.S. did in Afghanistan with its strategy of ‘fighting to the last Afghan.’ Does it now want Ukraine to 'fight till the last Ukrainian'?" Wang added.
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President Biden on Tuesday challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "end the war" against Ukraine and warned that the U.S. and its allies around the world will continue to support Ukraine and push for new sanctions on the Kremlin.
The broadsides from the U.S. and China come as Russia's invasion nears the one-year mark, and Ukrainian officials warn of a renewed offensive.
Putin himself withdrew Russia from the New START nuclear treaty with the U.S. on Tuesday, threatening to resume testing nuclear weapons.
The New START treaty, first signed in April 2010, limits the U.S. and Russia from having more than 1,550 nuclear warheads deployed on delivery systems like intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles or heavy bombers.
Biden, speaking in Poland on Tuesday, reiterated that the U.S. and Europe "do not seek to control or destroy Russia."
"The West is not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today," Biden said. "This war was never a necessity – it is a tragedy."
"Every day the war continues, this is his choice. He could end the war with a word. It’s simple: if Russia stopped invading Ukraine, it would end the war," he added.
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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