LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Recent remarks by China’s ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states such as Ukraine are totally unacceptable, foreign ministers for the Czech Republic and Lithuania said before a meeting with EU colleagues on Monday.
“It is totally unacceptable”, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said ahead of the Luxembourg meeting. “I hope bosses of this ambassador will make these things straight.”
Asked about his position on whether Crimea is part of Ukraine or not, Chinese ambassador to Paris Lu Shaye said in an interview aired on French television on Friday that historically it was part of Russia and had been offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
“These ex-USSR countries don’t have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their sovereign status,” Shaye added.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also said such comments were “totally unacceptable” and said the three Baltic countries will officially ask China for clarification to check if its position has changed.
France, Ukraine and the three Baltic states all expressed dismay at Lu’s comments over the weekend.
(Reporting by Ingrid Melander, Bart Meijer and Andrew Gray; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
