Beijing’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries in a media interview.
Ukraine has condemned the “absurd” remarks of the Chinese ambassador to France, who question the sovereignty of former Soviet countries.
France and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also expressed their dismay at the comments.
Asked for his stance on whether Crimea is part of Ukraine, Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye said in an interview broadcast on French television on Friday that the peninsula was historically part of Russia and given to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. had been offered.
“These ex-USSR countries have no real status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their sovereign status,” Shaye said.
His remarks apply not only to Ukraine, which Russia invaded last February, but also to all former Soviet republics, which emerged as independent nations after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, including many members of the European Union.
Commenting on Sunday, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said the status of post-Soviet countries is “entrenched in international law”.
“It is strange to hear an absurd version of the ‘history of Crimea’ from a representative of a country that is meticulous about its 1,000-year history,” said Podolyak, referring to China.
France expressed its “full solidarity” with all affected Allied countries, which it said had gained independence “after decades of oppression”.
“As far as Ukraine is concerned, within its borders, including Crimea, it was internationally recognized in 1991 by the entire international community, including China,” said a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Paris.
The spokesman added that Beijing will have to clarify whether these comments reflect its position.
The three Baltic states, all formerly part of the Soviet Union, reacted along the lines of France.
“Remarks by the Chinese ambassador to France about international law and sovereignty of nations are completely unacceptable,” Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote on Twitter.
“We expect explanations from the Chinese side and complete retraction of this statement,” he said.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said: “If anyone is still wondering why the Baltic states don’t trust China to ‘broker peace in Ukraine’, here’s a Chinese ambassador claiming that Crimea is Russian and that the borders of our countries have no legal basis.”
Moscow and Beijing have stepped up their cooperation in recent years, and Washington has accused Beijing of considering arms exports to Moscow.
China has denied the claims and has attempted to portray itself as a neutral side in the Ukraine conflict. It has proposed a vague political solution to the crisis.