Beijing distances itself from the statements of its ambassador and assures that it respects the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries
"We are not post-Soviet countries, but countries that were illegally occupied by the Soviet Union," Lithuanian Foreign Minister said.
On Friday, April 21, Chinese Ambassador to France Liu Shai questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet states and called Crimea russian. This Monday, the diplomat was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry.
Official Beijing is trying to distance itself from Liu Shai's words, and the Chinese Embassy in France has removed the transcript of the ambassador's interview from its official account.
China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Beijing respects the sovereignty of all post-Soviet states, RFI reports.
"China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the countries concerned," she added, "Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation.
In the controversial interview, Liu Shai said that the former Soviet Union countries "do not have an effective status in international law because there is no international agreement that specifies their status as sovereign countries."
Regarding Crimea's affiliation, Liu Shai noted that it "depends on how you look at this issue." "There is history. From the very beginning, Crimea belonged to russia. It was Khrushchev who gave Crimea to Ukraine during the Soviet Union," the Chinese ambassador said.
The words of the Chinese ambassador on LCI on Friday, April 21, provoked an international scandal. Paris, Kyiv, and the Baltic states condemned the statement.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia announced on Monday that they would summon the Chinese ambassadors to these countries "to ask for clarification." This was stated by the head of Lithuanian diplomacy Gabrielius Landsbergis.
The three Baltic states want to "find out if China's position on [their] independence has changed, and remind them that we are not post-Soviet countries, but countries that were illegally occupied by the Soviet Union," Landsbergis said.
On Sunday, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called the Chinese ambassador's statements unacceptable and expressed hope that they did not reflect the position of the Chinese authorities.
The statements of the Chinese ambassador to Paris "clearly violate international law" and "should be seen as a threat to the security of France's European partners," according to an open letter to French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonne signed by 80 MEPs.
The deputies called on the head of French diplomacy to declare Liu Shaoye "persona non grata."
Background. As reported, the Estonian Foreign Ministry summoned a Chinese diplomat due to the Chinese ambassador's statement that "Crimea is russia".
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