US President Joe Biden argued on Thursday that Russia should be removed from the G20, the group that brings together the world's 20 most industrialized economies.

In the US leader's view, Ukraine should be invited to participate in the meetings and hopes that the measure will be consensual among the group's members.

"My answer is yes," Joe Biden, quoted by the newspaper Negócios, said at a press conference outside the NATO meeting in Brussels when asked whether Russia should be removed from the G20. "But it is up to all G20 members to decide. If the other members also agree, Ukraine should be allowed to attend G20 meetings as an observer."

The measure is, however, likely to encounter opposition from China, which has already said it will vote against the initiative. "Russia is an important member country [of the G20]. No member has the right to expel another country," Chinese diplomatic spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press conference on Wednesday.

On China's reticence to condemn Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden reiterated that if it turns out that the Chinese government is militarily or financially supporting the Russian invasion, the United States will not hesitate to quickly impose economic sanctions on China.

Joe Biden also re-stated that NATO must send arms to Ukraine to end the month-long conflict and "strengthen the eastern flank," especially those European countries that share a border with Russia. He also stressed that the military alliance will intervene if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The American president also stressed that NATO is more "united" than ever and that this is something that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had not counted on.