TALLINN/RIGA/VILNIUS (dpa-AFX) – The Baltic states have reacted with outrage to statements by the Chinese ambassador in France that ex-Soviet republics are not necessarily sovereign. Because of the “completely unacceptable” comments, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced on Twitter on Saturday evening that he had summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Riga for Monday. This step has been coordinated with Lithuania and Estonia. “We expect a statement from the Chinese side and a complete withdrawal of this statement,” continued the chief diplomat of the Baltic EU and NATO country.
In an interview on French television, Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye previously questioned the sovereignty of states that were once part of the Soviet Union. Asked whether Crimea is part of Ukraine, the diplomat said it all depends on how you look at this issue. When the moderator intervened that the Black Sea Peninsula, occupied by Russia since 2014, was part of Ukraine under international law, Shaye replied: “In international law, even these countries of the former Soviet Union have no effective status because there is no international agreement to establish their status as to concretise a sovereign country.”
The French Foreign Ministry noted the statements “with dismay,” a spokeswoman said. “We express our full solidarity with all our affected allies and partners who have gained long-awaited independence after decades of oppression.” China must now clarify whether the ambassador’s statement represents the Chinese position. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called the statements “unacceptable”. The EU can “only assume that these statements do not represent official Chinese policy”.
“The Chinese diplomat’s statements are incomprehensible and we condemn such statements to an independent and sovereign country,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
His Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on Twitter about a recording of the interview: “Should anyone still be wondering why the Baltic states do not trust China to ‘bring peace to Ukraine’, here is a Chinese ambassador arguing that the Crimea is Russian and the borders of our countries have no legal basis.”
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were alternately occupied by the Soviet Union and Germany during World War II. After the end of the war, the three small Baltic states in north-eastern Europe became Soviet republics against their will for decades. They only regained their independence in 1991, and have belonged to the EU and NATO since 2004./awe/DP/he