China is under unprecedented US, EU pressure over Russian payments, says Kremlin

Beijing is under unprecedented U.S. and EU pressure to be tough on Moscow, the Kremlin said on Thursday, commenting on the refusal of some Chinese banks to accept payments from Russia.

Russian business people in January drew attention to problems with settlements with Chinese banks. The United States has been threatening banks in countries such as Turkey and China with secondary sanctions for facilitating trade with Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation with Chinese banks had caused problems, but said they could be overcome.