Representatives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs are shocked over the statements from the Chinese ambassador about international rights and sovereignty of countries.
“We were shocked to learn of the statements made by the Chinese ambassador to France in regards to the borders of countries that became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991,” said the French ambassador to Latvia Aurelie Royet-Gounin about the reaction of the press-secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“China needs to explain if this statement reflects its position; we hope it does not,” said the representative of the French ministry.
France stands “in full solidarity” with all of its allies and partners that receive or recovered their independence after decades of oppression.
The press-secretary to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds that when it comes to Ukraine, after the fall of the USSR, in 1991 the entire international community, China included, recognised Ukraine as a new member state of the UN within the borders that included Crimea.
France’s representatives stress that the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 was illegal in the context of international law. The UN Charter, based on the principle of territorial sovereignty and indivisibility, prohibits the taking of territory by force.
Following the unacceptable statements from the Chinese ambassador about international law and sovereignty of countries, Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign affairs summoned the authorized clerk of the Chinese embassy in Riga, as confirmed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs on Twitter.
He said this step was coordinated with Lithuania and Estonia.
Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye said the former USSR countries “have no effective status under international law”.
“Even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have effective status, as we say, under international law because there’s no international accord to concretise their status as a sovereign country,” he told Swiss journalist Darius Rochebin.
“He denies the existence of such countries like Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, etc.,”
wrote Paris-based think tank Foundation for Strategic Research expert for Chinese affairs Antoine Bondaz on Twitter.
Whether the Chinese ambassador included Baltic States in his statement is unclear, since they have never been part of USSR under international law, rather they were under lengthy occupation.
When asks who the Crimean Peninsula, which is currently occupied by Russia, belongs to, the ambassador said it depends on how people perceive this problem.
He added that Crimea belonged to Russia “from the start”. He did not explain what he meant with “from the start”.
Latvia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, in response to this position, announced on Twitter that this is completely unacceptable. “We expect explanations from China and a full reaction to this statement,” he added.
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