After Beijing’s top ambassador in Paris questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet republics, undermining China’s ambitions to be considered as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine, European nations have demanded explanations from Beijing.

Especially in the Baltic republics, the comments made by China’s ambassador to France Lu Shaye, who claimed in a television interview that the former Soviet Union has no “effective status in international law,” have raised eyebrows.

Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, announced on Monday that the countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia would call Chinese officials to request clarification.

Officials from the European Union, France, Ukraine, Moldova, and more all responded to Lu’s remarks by criticising them as well.

When asked if Crimea, which Russia illegitimately annexed in 2014, was a part of Ukraine, Lu made the remark.

After noting that the issue of Crimea “depends on how the problem is perceived” given that the region was “at the beginning Russian” and then “offered to Ukraine during the Soviet era,” Lu said, “even these ex-Soviet countries don’t have an effective status in international law because there was no international agreement to materialise their status as sovereign countries.”

The remarks, which came as Russia brutally invaded Ukraine in line with leader Vladimir Putin’s belief that the nation should be a part of Russia, appeared to deny the sovereignty of nations that gained independence and became members of the UN following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991.

China has so far refrained from denouncing or demanding that Russia withdraw its soldiers from Ukraine, instead encouraging patience from “all parties” and charging NATO of inciting the war. Additionally, it has kept on strengthening its diplomatic and economic connections with Moscow.

Josep Borrell, the head of the EU’s foreign affairs, replied on Sunday, calling the comments “unacceptable.”

According to a statement posted by Borrell on Twitter, “the EU can only assume that these declarations do not represent China’s official policy.”

According to Reuters, France responded on Sunday by expressing its “full solidarity” with all the impacted allies and requesting China to clarify whether these statements really reflect its position.

Following the interview, which broadcast on the French station LCI on Friday, a number of former Soviet leaders, notably those in Ukraine, didn’t waste any time striking back.

Edgars Rinkevics, the foreign minister of Latvia, demanded a “explanation from the Chinese side and complete retraction of this statement” in a tweet he posted on Saturday.

When the EU’s foreign ministers gather on Monday to review their relations with China, he promised to bring up the subject.

The little nation of Moldova, which borders Ukraine on the southwest and has been affected by Russia’s invasion, expressed surprise at Lu’s remarks.

“We are taken aback by the Chinese (ambassador’s) words casting doubt on the sovereignty of nations that proclaimed their independence in ’91. Moldova-China relations have been based on mutual respect and territorial integrity, the ministry declared on its official Twitter account.

We anticipate that these statements do not reflect China’s official position.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine’s Presidential Administration, also posted on Twitter, “It is unusual to hear a ludicrous account of the ‘history of Crimea’ from a representative of a country that is fastidious about its thousand-year past.

“Do not repeat the propaganda of Russian outsiders if you want to be a major political player.”

A representative for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded that China respects the “sovereign state status” of former Soviet Union nations when questioned about Lu’s comments during a routine news briefing on Monday.

China was among the first nations to forge diplomatic ties with the affected nations when the Soviet Union disintegrated. The development of friendly and cooperative bilateral ties has always been based on the principles of equality and mutual request, according to China, according to spokesperson Mao Ning, who avoided explicitly answering inquiries about Lu’s opinions.

Chinese relations to Europe

Lu, a prominent figure among China’s allegedly aggressive “wolf-warrior” diplomats, has caused controversy before for his opinions.

According to Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, “He’s been a well-known provocateur.”

“But he’s a diplomat, he represents his government, so it reflects some thinking within China about the issue,” he added. But they also said that now is “not the time for China to put at risk its relationship” with France.

The remarks put Beijing in the public eye at a delicate time for its diplomatic efforts in Europe.

Relationships have deteriorated as Europe has uncomfortably observed China’s closer ties to Russia and its failure to denounce Putin’s invasion.

Beijing has been attempting to repair its image in recent months by emphasising its declared neutrality in the crisis and intention to play a “constructive role” in communication and negotiation. This has sparked discussion in European capitals about how to balance its relationship with China, a significant economic partner, and further fueled the controversy.

After French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beijing this month, which he presented as an opportunity to start working with Beijing to advocate for peace in Ukraine, that discussion became more heated. Macron signed a number of cooperation agreements with China during his visit.

Some voices in Europe have been sceptical of such an approach, including those from former Soviet states, where many people recall living under Communist authoritarian government.

“If anyone is still wondering why the Baltic States don’t trust China to ‘broker peace in Ukraine,’ here’s a Chinese ambassador arguing that Crimea is Russian and our countries’ borders have no legal basis,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis posted on Twitter after Lu’s interview on Saturday.

China has become “increasingly successful in being perceived as a responsible power that might play a beneficial role in a peace process in Ukraine,” according to Moritz Rudolf, a fellow and research scholar at the Paul Tsai China Centre at Yale Law School in the US.

If the Foreign Ministry does not distance the (People’s Republic of China) from the remarks of Ambassador Lu, it is unclear whether the leadership in Beijing is aware of how detrimental those words may prove to be for its objectives in Europe, he said.

Aside from the fact that China had not acknowledged Russian sovereignty over Crimea or any other land it had annexed since 2014, he continued, China’s “official position and practise” contradicted Lu’s statements.

Others recommended The comments made by Lu might also reveal what Beijing’s actual diplomatic priorities are.

Russia is largely regarded as being unwilling to participate in any future peace agreement on Ukraine if it means ceding control over Crimea. According to Yun Sun, head of the China Programme at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Centre, Beijing may find it difficult to provide a straightforward response to this question.

“China cannot provide a response to the question. The source of China’s influence is its ties with Russia, she added, adding that Lu could not have provided a “better answer.”

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