China has disavowed remarks made by its envoy to France that questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet member states after triggering a backlash from European leaders.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing reaffirmed its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that it was willing to work with the international community “to promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
This came after Lu’s interview with French media on April 21, where he said that Crimea was historically a part of Russia and that ex-Soviet states have no effective status in international law, sparking outrage among European capitals.
“In international law, even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have the status, the effective status, in international law, because there is no international agreement to materialize their status of a sovereign country,” he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning rejected Lu’s remarks, saying that Beijing respects “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries” and upholds the principles of the United Nations Charter.
‘Unacceptable Remarks’
Josep Borrell, the chief of EU foreign policy, told reporters on Monday that Beijing’s move to distance itself from Lu’s “unacceptable remarks” was “good news.”“When it comes to Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine, China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has a responsibility to defend the United Nations Charter,” Borrell said.
“If anyone is still wondering why the Baltic States don’t trust China to ‘broker peace in Ukraine,’ here’s a Chinese ambassador arguing that Crimea is Russian and our countries’ borders have no legal basis,” Landsbergis stated.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania criticized Lu’s remarks and demanded answers from Beijing.
The French Foreign Ministry on April 23 affirmed its “full solidarity” with all the former Soviet countries, which it said had acquired independence “after decades of oppression.”
“On Ukraine specifically, it was internationally recognized within borders including Crimea in 1991 by the entire international community, including China,” a French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.