China’s Foreign Ministry Responds to Ambassador’s Remarks on Former Soviet Union Countries in Paris

Beijing, April 24 – Commenting on Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Xi’s remarks on Crimea and the sovereignty of former countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Monday that China respects the sovereignty of all countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. USSR.

Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Xi, in an interview with the LCI TV channel, said that Crimea “was originally Russian, and then Khrushchev gave it to Ukraine.” The Chinese ambassador to France expressed the opinion that the Americans were not interested in ending the conflict in Ukraine. He also questioned the sovereignty of the countries of the former Soviet Union, stating that they “have no valid standing in international law, because there is no international agreement defining their status as sovereign states.” The Monde newspaper reported earlier that about 80 European parliamentarians demanded, in a letter from French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, that the Chinese ambassador in Paris, Lu Xi, be declared persona non grata for “denying the sovereignty of the countries of the former Soviet Union.”

Mao Ning stressed that China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with related countries. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation. China respects the sovereignty of all former Soviet republics,” a female diplomat said. .

Mao Ning pointed out that some media misinterpreted China’s position on the Ukrainian issue and sowed discord between China and relevant countries. The diplomat added that China is ready to continue working with the international community to contribute to promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

The Crimea region was part of the RSFSR until February 19, 1954, when the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a resolution transferring the region to the Ukrainian SSR. The initiator of the decree was the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who had worked in Ukraine for a long time. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the peninsula remained part of Ukraine.

Crimea became a Russian region in March 2014 after the referendum that followed the coup in Ukraine. In the 2014 referendum, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol were in favor of joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea to be its temporarily occupied territory, and many Western countries support Kiev on this issue. For its part, the Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that Crimeans voted for democratic reunification with Russia, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Crimean issue has been “permanently closed.”