'We are not naive': NATO chief comments on China training Russian troops
Photo: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (Getty Images)
NATO is constantly striving to closely monitor China’s military assistance to Russia, including the training of soldiers, according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Journalists ask Rutte about China's assistance to Russia in the form of military training, as recently reported by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas.
The Secretary General notes that NATO is "constantly trying to follow exactly what China is doing."
"We are not naive. We follow everything exactly. I cannot tell you more at this moment, or at least in this open press conference, but you can be assured that we follow every [bit]," Rutte emphasizes.
China trained Russian troops for war against Ukraine
Earlier, Reuters reported that late last year, China secretly trained approximately 200 Russian military personnel on its territory, some of whom later returned to participate in combat operations against Ukraine.
At the same time, Beijing denied such reports of covert training of Russian troops, calling such claims attempts to shift responsibility for the war in Ukraine.
In addition, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the secret training of Russian troops in China, stating that such reports are untrue and should be viewed with skepticism.
Welt reported that among the Russian military personnel secretly trained by China may have been drone operators from the elite “Rubicon” unit.
Subsequently, the European Union confirmed that China had trained hundreds of Russian soldiers for the war against Ukraine. China again denied this information.
