Biden: China has warned Putin against using nuclear weapons

President Biden said Thursday that China has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons during the war in Ukraine.

In a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Biden was asked if there are new concerns about Putin taking more drastic steps following disarray among Russian generals and the rebellion by the Wagner Group.

“I don’t think there’s any real prospect — you never know — of Putin using nuclear weapons. Not only has the West, but China and the rest of the world has said, ‘don’t go there,’” Biden said in Helsinki.

Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last spoke in November in Bali, Indonesia, during the Group of 20 summit. Top officials from the Biden administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, have recently met with their counterparts in China.

Biden traveled to Helsinki after attending a NATO Summit in Lithuania, where member nations discussed continued support for Ukraine in its war against invading Russian forces. 

The summit delivered a blow to Putin with allies standing as united as ever against his war in Ukraine. Biden and other leaders also boosted defense spending.

In another setback for Putin, Turkey agreed to allow Sweden to join NATO, which expands the border of the alliance. Biden and allies also discussed Ukraine joining the alliance, which all agreed is in the country’s future but can’t happen until the war with Russia ends.