23.04.2023, Paris.
The former Soviet Union countries have no “effective status” in the international arena, and Crimea originally belonged to Russia, Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye said in an April 23 interview with the French channel LCI.
Chinese diplomat Lu Shaye, who serves as China’s ambassador to France, outlined his position on the status of Crimea, which became part of Russia in 2014.
In an interview, when Lu Shae was asked whether he considered Crimea was Ukrainian, the ambassador replied, “It depends on the perception of the problem. There is a history: Crimea was originally Russian. Khrushchev gave Crimea to Ukraine during Soviet times.”
In response, the journalist recalled the norms of international law, according to which Western countries consider Crimea to be Ukraine’s territory, but the diplomat said that the former Soviet countries do not have an “effective status in international law,” as there is no such agreement that specifies their sovereignty.
Ukraine and the Baltic trio of countries reacted sharply to Lu Shaye’s opinion. For example, the Latvian Foreign Ministry found the speech of the Chinese ambassador absolutely unacceptable and demanded the Chinese leadership to explain and refute the statement of their diplomat.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry even dared to summon the Chinese ambassador. The Ukrainian ambassador said that the Chinese ambassador allegedly does not know geography well. There was also a response from the French Foreign Ministry. They said the ministry was “dismayed” to hear about the remarks and asked the Chinese leadership whether the ambassador’s position reflected the opinion of China as a whole. So far there has been no response from China.
Crimea returned to Russia as a result of the general referendum held in 2014. The overwhelming majority voted for reunification with Russia. Kiev and Western countries do not recognize the results of the referendum and consider it illegitimate, continuing to consider it Ukrainian.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
