Before a Monday EU session, Czech and Lithuanian foreign ministers denounced China’s ambassador to France’s comments questioning Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“It is totally unacceptable,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said before the Luxembourg conference. “I hope this ambassador’s bosses clarify.”
Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to Paris, told French television on Friday that former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had promised Crimea to Ukraine.
“These ex-USSR countries don’t have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their sovereign status,” Shaye stated.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis termed such comments “totally unacceptable” and said the three Baltic countries would officially ask China for an explanation to determine whether its attitude has changed.
Lu’s weekend remarks angered France, Ukraine, and the Baltic nations.
