Germany warns China against supplying drones to Russia for Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned China against supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with military equipment at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.

Baerbock said supporters of Russia must understand that the Ukraine war concerns Europe’s “core security interests” and for this reason backing Russia “must and will have consequences” for China.

The German foreign minister did not give further details.

Baerbock is in Brussels to meet with her EU counterparts to discuss the Ukraine war and the support Russia is receiving from North Korea, China, and Iran.

Like Iran, the European Union has also been warning China throughout the Ukraine war against directly supplying military equipment to Russia.

Ahead of the foreign ministers gathering, an EU official said the bloc had reports from intelligence sources that a factory inside China is producing drones that are shipped to Russia and are used against Ukraine.

The EU official said that China has provided Russia with dual-use goods and technologies that can be repurposed for military use in Ukraine.

While this practice is “extremely worrying,” the EU official said the bloc did not have direct evidence of material transfer of military equipment from China and Russia.

Investigations on the issue are continuing, the EU official said and the Chinese government has been asked for more information.

Discussions on Chinese support come as EU foreign minister agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran for supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.

The new EU sanctions target two Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea, Amirabad and Anzali, as well as an Iranian shipping company and three Russian shipping companies.

EU companies may no longer do business with the sanctioned ports while vessels from the targeted shipping companies may no longer dock at EU harbours. Any assets held in the bloc are to be frozen.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), the Iranian national maritime carrier, has shipped drones on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for years, according to a statement from EU foreign ministers.

The director of the IRISL, Mohammad Reza Khiabani, was also targeted by EU sanctions.

The three Russian companies sanctioned are MG Flot, VTS Broker, and Arapax, for moving Iranian-made ammunition, weapons, and drones across the Caspian Sea to supply Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, according to EU foreign ministers.

Scholz to raise Chinese exports to Russia exports with Xi

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he plans to discuss the issue of arms deliveries to Russia with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the G20 summit.

“It is always a topic of my talks to warn everyone against supplying lethal weapons to Russia. And that is why this will also be the case in the future, a central topic,” Scholz said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro when asked whether he would address the alleged delivery of Chinese drones to Russia at his meeting with Xi, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

Scholz added that he has also always made a point of addressing the export of so-called dual-use goods to Russia, which can be used for both military and civilian purposes, at such meetings. He will continue to do so.

The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia as part of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine will also be discussed, he said: “This is unacceptable and is, moreover, a terrible change.”

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