Chinese diplomat’s words spark anger in former Soviet states

Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, was accused of “parroting” and “mouthpiece of Russian propaganda” for his “bizarre remarks” denying the sovereignty of former Soviet republics, which caused a tsunami of anger in former Soviet countries.

Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Andrei Podolyako, lashed out at the absurdity of Mr Lushano’s claims: “It is amazing to hear a ridiculous version of Crimean history from a representative of a country that is meticulous about its history for thousands of years.”

Podoryako countered by noting that “all states of the former Soviet Union have a clear sovereign status in international law,” adding: “If you want to be a major political player, don’t parrot and listen to Russian propaganda.”

In an interview with a French television station on April 21, Lushaye was speaking about Crimea, Ukraine, which Moscow seized in 2014, when a reporter asked: “In your eyes, does Crimea belong to Ukraine?” Lu replied: “Not necessarily, depending on how we look at the issue… .. It’s not that simple. This is a historical problem. Crimea originally belonged to Russia and was given to Ukraine by Khrushchev during the Soviet era.

Lu Shaye went on to say, “According to international law, these former Soviet states are not de facto sovereign states, because there is no international agreement to define their sovereign state status.”
According to Agence France-Presse, Lu is part of a new family of “Wolf warrior diplomats” who are shirtless and rarely use diplomatic language in the face of the West. When pressed by reporters about Lu Shaye’s denial of former Soviet statehood, Lu asked reporters to stop “sophistry”.
Thomas Frien, founder of the French think tank Institute for Open Diplomacy, commented in the Journal du Dimanche that Luchaye’s comments were not just about two countries. In one sentence, he wiped out 14 post-Soviet members of the United Nations.

The three Baltic countries, which belong to NATO, did little to hide their anger at the Chinese representative, with Latvian Foreign Minister Vladislav Rinkevic condemning Lushaye’s comments as “totally unacceptable.” His Estonian counterpart, Mr Chukner, described it as a “false reading of history”. “Under international law, the Baltic States have been sovereign states since 1918, but they were occupied by the Soviet Union for 50 years,” he said.
“The EU can only assume that these unacceptable remarks do not represent China’s official position,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. France said it noted “with dismay” remarks by the Chinese ambassador to France, in which the authorities in Paris stated that Ukraine had been “recognized by the entire international community, including China, within its borders in 1991, including Crimea,” and referred to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 as “an illegal act under international law.” Paris asked Beijing to clarify its ambassador’s claims.