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22 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, has provoked a furious response from Ukraine and the Baltic countries by questioning, during an interview with TF1, that post-Soviet countries do not have “effective status” before the Law International.
The diplomat argued that “there is no international agreement that materializes its status as a sovereign country” and could not give a concrete answer when asked if “Crimea is part of Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s ambassador to France, Vadim Omelchenko, responded on his Twitter account highlighting the difference between these statements and Beijing’s official position on the conflict.
Beijing, it should be remembered, is a close political and commercial partner of Russia, but since the beginning of the conflict it has defended the integrity of Ukraine against the Russian invasion and offered to open a peace mediation process.
“Either this man has obvious problems with geography,” the Ukrainian ambassador replied, “or his statements contradict Beijing’s position ‘on efforts to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter'”.
The Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkevics, has also expressed his discomfort. “These are completely unacceptable statements. We await an explanation from the Chinese side and the complete retraction of this statement,” he said on Twitter.
His Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, has also protested in statements collected by the Delfi portal. “It is sad that a representative of the People’s Republic of China holds such views. Such a position is incomprehensible,” he said.
