UPDATED: Russia has not asked China for military help for use in Ukraine – Kremlin

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) – Russia has not asked China for military assistance and has sufficient military clout to fulfill all of its aims in Ukraine in time and in full, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said that Russia had asked China for military equipment

 A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday assertions from U.S. officials that Russia asked Beijing for military equipment for its campaign in Ukraine were “disinformation” from the United States.

The comments came during a regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing in Beijing.

Earlier, the spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington responded to media reports on Sunday that Moscow had asked Beijing for military equipment since launching its invasion of Ukraine by saying, “I’ve never heard of that.”

The spokesperson, Liu Pengyu, said China’s priority was to prevent the tense situation in Ukraine from getting out of control.

“The current situation in Ukraine is indeed disconcerting,” he said in an emailed response to a query from Reuters.

“The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control.”

Russia has asked China for military equipment since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times and Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing U.S. officials.

U.S. National Security advisor Jake Sullivan will be in Rome on Monday to meet with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi, the White House said earlier.

Russia, which calls its action in Ukraine a “special operation,” and China have tightened cooperation as they have come under strong Western pressure over human rights and a raft of other issues.

Beijing has not condemned Russia’s attack and does not call it an invasion, but has urged a negotiated solution.

The White House’s National Security Council declined to comment.

The Washington Post said the unidentified U.S. officials did not state the kind of weaponry that had been requested or how China had responded.

Photo – A paramilitary police officer wears a mask as he stands guard at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. EPA-EFE/WU HONG