Sullivan: US Has Had No Confirmation From UKR On Xi-Zelensky Call

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has provided an update on recent developments in Chinese diplomacy. Note: Quotes may not be verbatim.

• On China's role in Ukraine, Sullivan said: "We have been encouraging [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] to reach out to [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky. We have done so publicly and privately to the PRC. We have spoken to our Ukrainian counterparts today... they have not yet had any confirmation that there will be a call. We hope there will be, that would be a good thing."
• Sullivan: "We hope to continue to dissuade [China] from choosing to provide lethal assisance to Russia."
• Sullivan says that Riyadh kept the US appraised of the Chinese brokered Iran-Saudi deal last week: "This is something that we think is a positive... having China promote de-escalation is not fundamentally adverse to US interests."
• Sullivan: "We were not in a position to be a mediator between Saudi Arabia and Iran given our relationship with those countries. We never have been and we aren't today."
• On the US-China relationship: "We believe there is competition but there is no need for conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War."