President Joe Biden met virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday for the first time since Russia’s invasion. The White House said Biden warned Xi of “consequences” if China supported Russia’s assault. Xi said Beijing was not planning to back the Kremlin in its war. Germany and Qatar have reached a deal on gas supplies as Berlin seeks to lessen its dependency on Russian energy imports.
This comes as reports out of Washington say the Biden administration transferred a large number of Patriot anti-missile interceptors to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, as the U.S. pressures Riyadh to pump more oil.