China this Monday admitted to respecting the “sovereign state status” of all ex-Soviet countries after Beijing’s ambassador to France sparked outrage in Europe with statements questioning the sovereignty of these nations.
“China respects the sovereign state status of the participating republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
Beijing’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, made waves after suggesting that countries created after the fall of the Soviet Union “have no effective status under international law because there is no international agreement confirming their status as a nation “. sovereign.
The ambassador’s remarks seemed to concern not only Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022, but also all former Soviet republics that emerged as independent nations after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, including the members of the European Union .
“China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” Mao stressed.
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with relevant countries,” he concluded.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the comments “unacceptable”, adding in a tweet that the EU “can only assume that these statements do not represent China’s official policy”.
China distanced itself from Lu’s comments – while defending its supposedly neutral stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Since establishing diplomatic ties, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop friendly and cooperative bilateral relations,” Mao said.
“Some media misunderstand China’s position on the Ukrainian issue and sow discord in relations between China and relevant countries,” he added, warning: “We will be vigilant in this regard.”
Lu’s comments last week sparked outrage across Europe, prompting the EU’s three Baltic countries to convene China’s envoys on Monday to explain the remarks.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on the social network Twitter that “if anyone is still wondering why the Baltic states don’t trust China to ‘make peace in Ukraine’, here’s a Chinese ambassador claiming that Crimea Russia is and that the borders of our countries have no legal basis”.
Lu has previously admitted to being part of the so-called “Wolf Warrior” class of Chinese diplomats, a nickname given to those who react vehemently to criticism they see as hostile to China.
In January 2019, as ambassador to Canada, he accused the US country of “white supremacy” for demanding the release of two Canadians detained in China days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States.
In August 2022, he sparked outrage by suggesting that the Taiwanese people should be “re-educated” following a Chinese takeover of the self-governed island.
Source: DN
