China is a major ally of Russia and has not condemned President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
A Chinese ambassador to Paris, Lu Shaye made comment questioning the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.
Lu Shaye’s comments caused widespread outrage last week, leading to calls to Beijing to clarify.
On Monday, China’s foreign ministry announced that it respected the independence of all post-Soviet republics.
China is a major ally of Russia and has not condemned President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Still, China sees itself as a major player in attempts to bring peace to Ukraine.
However, it has become an increasingly important trading partner for Russia amid Western sanctions prompted by the invasion.
This has made many in the West doubt its impartiality on the issue.
The Remark
In an interview with the French LCI network last week, Ambassador Lu was asked about China’s view of the status of Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014.
The interviewer argued that under international law the region was part of Ukraine.
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Responding, Mr. Lu suggested that the issue was not clear cut, and countries such as Ukraine could not rely on international law to defend their sovereignty.
“Even these former Soviet countries don’t have an effective status under international law because there is no international agreement under international law to concretise their status as sovereign countries,” Lu said.
On Monday Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rejected Mr. Lu’s position on the issue.
She says Beijing respects the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all countries and upheld the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
