Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France, claimed in an interview with French television that Ukraine and other former Soviet states do not have valid sovereign state status. This immediately aroused unanimous protests from the three Baltic countries and the Ukrainian ambassadors to France. The Ukrainian presidential adviser also condemned Lu Shaye on the 23rd. The comments are “ridiculous”. European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said Lu Shaye’s remarks were “unacceptable”.

Agence France-Presse reported that Porrell also tweeted that the remarks made by the Chinese ambassador to France are unacceptable, and the European Union can only assume that these announcements do not represent China’s official policy. Porrell’s tweet is the latest sign of dissatisfaction in Europe caused by the Chinese envoy’s remarks on French television on the 21st that “the former Soviet Union countries do not have effective sovereign state status”.

Lu Shaye was interviewed by the French LCI News Channel on the 21st. The host asked whether Crimea belonged to Ukraine. Lu Shaye said with an embarrassed smile: “Not necessarily, it depends on how we look at these issues…it’s not that simple.” He argued that in history Crimea is part of Russia. The host reminded that according to international law, Crimea belongs to Ukraine. But Lu Shaye babbled: “According to international law, these former Soviet states have no valid status because there is no international agreement to concretize their sovereign state status.”

The claims demean not only Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last February, but also all former Soviet republics that became independent states after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, including many members of the European Union (EU). Ukraine and EU member Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and other independent former Soviet republics condemned Lu Shaye’s remarks.

The French Foreign Ministry expressed “confusion” at Lu Shaye’s remarks and stressed that Beijing must clarify whether this reflects the position of the Chinese government. The Ukrainian ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, criticizes Lu Shaye’s “obvious problems with his understanding of geography” and that his remarks are incompatible with Beijing’s “efforts to restore peace to Ukraine in accordance with international law and the goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations” stance runs counter to that.

The three Baltic countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, were also issued a statement by Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, pointing out that “the remarks made by the Chinese ambassador to France concerning international law and national sovereignty are completely unacceptable. We expect China to Give an explanation and retract this claim,” before revealing in a tweet that the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned representatives of the Chinese embassy for an explanation, a move that had been coordinated with Lithuania and Estonia.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis sarcastically said: “Why do the Baltic countries not trust China to ‘promote peace in Ukraine’, because the Chinese ambassador argues that Crimea belongs to Russia and our country’s borders do not Legal basis.” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna pointed out that Lu Shaye’s comments were a misunderstanding of history, and that the Baltic states have been sovereign since 1918 but were occupied for 50 years.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak responded that the status of the former Soviet Union was “enshrined in international law”. “History of Crimea”, feels very strange.” And called on China: “If you want to play an important political role, don’t imitate Russian propaganda.”

Despite its close ties to Russia, China has insisted on playing a neutral role in the conflict in Ukraine and has offered an ambiguous political solution to the conflict. Both Paris and Washington have urged Beijing to play a more active role in pushing Moscow toward peace, but Beijing has continued to increase military cooperation with Moscow. Washington accused Beijing of considering exporting arms to Moscow, while China countered that the U.S. military aid to Ukraine was “adding fuel to the fire.”