“China backtracks on controversial sovereignty remarks of ambassador Lu Shaye | Le JDD”

After the controversial remarks of its ambassador on the sovereignty of the countries of the former USSR, China is trying to backtrack. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that “ China respects the sovereign state status of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The diplomat assures that Beijing ” respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and supports the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations ».

« 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. Mao Ning says. ” Some media misinterpret China’s stance on Ukraine issue and sow discord in relations between China and relevant countries “, adds the spokesperson. ” We will be vigilant about this “, she says.

Anger of Macron and the Baltic countries

This mea culpa comes after an intervention by Lu Shaye, Chinese ambassador to France, on LCI about Ukraine. The Chinese envoy had declared that the countries of the former USSR ” do not have effective status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their status as a sovereign country “. These remarks which caused a real international outcry.

« I think this is not the place’a diplomat to hold this type of language “, reacted Emmanuel Macron during a summit on wind power in Ostend, Belgium. ” So, full solidarity with the countries that have been attacked in the reading of their history and their borders “, he added.

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 China’s official position “. The Baltic countries have summoned their Chinese ambassadors to remind them that we are not post-Soviet countries but countries that have been illegally occupied by the Soviet Union “, according to the head of Lithuanian diplomacy Gabrielius Landsbergis.