China assured Monday to respect the “sovereign state status” of the countries of the former USSR, after the controversial statements of its ambassador in Paris, strongly denounced by French President Emmanuel Macron.
“China respects the sovereign state status of the republics” born after the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
Distancing herself from the remarks of the diplomat stationed in the French capital, she assured that China “respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and supports the objectives and principles of the Charter of Nations united”.
The Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, questioned on the French news channel LCI about the Ukrainian province of Crimea annexed since 2014 by Moscow, had denied the sovereignty of former Soviet republics on Friday evening.
The countries of the former USSR “do not have effective status in international law because there is no international agreement to concretize their status as sovereign countries”, he said on Friday evening. , provoking a wave of indignation in the States concerned.
“I think it’s not the place of a diplomat to hold this type of language,” French President Emmanuel Macron reacted on Monday on the sidelines of a summit in Ostend, Belgium.
“So, full solidarity with the countries that have been attacked in the reading of their history and their borders,” he added.
A meeting this Monday between the chief of staff and the Chinese ambassador “will be the occasion for very firm clarifications”, indicated the French ministry of Foreign Affairs to AFP.
The Chinese ambassador’s remarks were described as “unacceptable” by the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrel, for whom “the EU can only assume that these statements do not represent the official position of China”.
The three Baltic states have summoned their Chinese envoys “to remind them that we are not post-Soviet countries but countries that have been illegally occupied by the Soviet Union”, according to the words of the head of Lithuanian diplomacy, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
His Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna denounced “false” claims, stemming from a “erroneous interpretation of history”. “According to international law, the Baltic States have been sovereign since 1918, but they were occupied for 50 years” by the USSR, he continued.
Faced with the outcry, Beijing marked its difference from the words of its ambassador, who is part of the “wolves fighters”, this new clan of Chinese diplomats not mincing their words in the face of a West perceived as systematically hostile to Beijing.
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the countries concerned,” said Mao.
“Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation,” the spokesperson added.
“Some media have misinterpreted China’s position on the Ukrainian issue and are sowing discord in relations between China and the countries concerned”, she further stressed, “we will be vigilant about this”.
About Crimea, occupied by Moscow since 2014, Lu Shaye said that “Crimea was at the very beginning to Russia. It was Khrushchev who offered Crimea to Ukraine in the time of the Soviet Union “.
“All the countries of the former USSR have a clear sovereign status enshrined in international law,” replied Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, on Twitter before quipping: “If you want to be a major political player, do not repeat like a parrot the propaganda of the Russians”.
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04/24/2023 17:27:09 – Beijing (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
