TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – French, Ukraineand Baltic countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania expressed their disappointment after the ambassadors China in Paris questioned the sovereignty of the former Soviet states.
Asked about his position Crimea is part of Ukraine or not, Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye said that historically it was part of Russia and had been offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
“These countries of the former Soviet Union have no actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to realize their sovereign status,” Shaye said in an interview broadcast on French television on Friday, April 21, 2023.
France responded by expressing “full solidarity” with all the affected allied countries, which have gained their independence “after decades of oppression”.
“In particular in Ukraine, it was recognized internationally within its borders including Crimea in 1991 by the entire international community, including China,” said a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, Sunday, April 23, 2023.
He added that China should clarify whether or not these comments reflected the country’s position.
The three Baltic states and Ukraine, all formerly part of the Soviet Union, reacted the same way as France.
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“Strange to hear such an absurd version of ‘Crimean history’ from a country representative who is so meticulous about his thousand-year history,” Mykhailo Podolyak, senior assistant to the president of Ukraine, wrote on Twitter.
“If you want to be a major political player, don’t imitate propaganda Russia.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
REUTERS
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