2023-04-23 22:06:29
A Chinese diplomat has angered a number of Baltic states over remarks seen as affecting their status as independent states.
During an interview with France’s LCI news channel, China’s ambassador to Paris, Lu Chai, said, “These former Soviet states do not have an effective status under international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their status as a sovereign state.”
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which regained its independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, said they would summon Chinese diplomats on Monday to complain about the remarks by Beijing’s ambassador in Paris, according to the Financial Times.
When asked whether Crimea was part of Ukraine, Le Shay said that the question “is not easy to answer with a few words,” noting that Crimea belonged to Russia, while neglecting to mention that Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014. .
Ukrainian officials rejected the Chinese comments.
“All post-Soviet states have a clear sovereign status enshrined in international law,” Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said.
The French Foreign Ministry also expressed its “dissatisfaction” with Le’s remarks.
“It is up to China to say whether these statements reflect its position, which we hope they do not,” the French foreign ministry said.
“We stand in solidarity with our affected allies and partners, who have achieved the long-awaited independence after decades of oppression,” she added. It also added that “the annexation of Crimea was illegal under international law.”
The uproar comes after Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to Beijing, in which he said China’s plan for Ukraine showed “a will to play a responsible role” in the conflict.
The French president later faced criticism for suggesting that the EU should avoid being drawn into tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan.
“If anyone is still wondering why the Baltic states don’t trust China to ‘broker peace in Ukraine’, it is a Chinese ambassador arguing that Crimea is Russian and that the borders of our countries have no legal basis,” said Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevich called the remarks “totally unacceptable,” adding, “We expect an explanation from the Chinese side and a complete retraction of this statement.”
Vadym Omelchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to France, said sarcastically that “Who owns Vladivostok?” should be asked, referring to the port city annexed by Russia from China in the mid-19th century.
Estonia’s foreign minister, Margos Tsahkna, described the ambassador’s remarks as “false and a misinterpretation of history.” He added, “The Baltic states, under international law, have enjoyed sovereignty since 1918, but they have been occupied for 50 years.”
The three Baltic states declared their independence for the first time in 1918 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.
It was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union during World War II in 1940 and then again in 1944. Most Western countries refused to recognize the annexation.
After the countries became independent in 1990, the three joined the European Union and NATO and were staunch supporters of Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression.
Lu’s statements contradict China’s declared policy towards the former Soviet countries, according to the newspaper, and China entered into diplomatic relations with these independent republics in September 1991.
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