China’s ambassador to France has called into question the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, suggesting that their hazy status under international law makes it difficult to resolve conflicts over disputed territories such as Crimea.
“Even these countries of the former Soviet Union don’t have effective status in international law because there is no international agreement to make their status as a sovereign country concrete,” Ambassador Lu Shaye said on Saturday in an interview with French broadcaster LCI.
Asked by Swiss journalist Darius Rochebin whether Crimea is Ukrainian territory, Lu said, “It depends on how you perceive the problem . . . . It’s not that simple.”
Rochebin tried to correct his guest, saying, “Sorry, according to international law, you know it’s Ukraine. Under international law, you can argue it, you can dispute it, but this is Ukraine.” Lu replied, “Crimea was originally part of Russia, wasn’t it? It was [Soviet leader Nikita] Khrushchev who gave Crimea to Ukraine in the Soviet Union.”
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European states reacted with fury to remarks by China’s top envoy to France questioning the independence of ex-Soviet states, tainting the nation’s push to court leaders in the region and burnish its credentials to broker peace after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteAmbassador Lu Shaye said in an interview aired on Friday on French network LCI that some “ex-Soviet Union countries” don’t have effective status under international law.