France, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have condemned the Chinese ambassador in Paris, Lu Shaye, after he questioned the sovereignty of not just Ukraine but all former Soviet republics,

including the Baltic states. Lu made the comments during a television interview on Friday, raising questions over French President Emmanuel Macron’s trust in China’s ability to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

Lu’s comments have caused concern among countries that formally recognised each other after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and are represented at the United Nations and European security organisations. France expressed solidarity with its allies and partners and said the annexation of Crimea in 2014 was illegal under international law.

The Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, called the comments “completely unacceptable”, and the EU is preparing to respond strongly at a meeting of European foreign affairs ministers in Brussels on Monday.

Estonia summoned China’s ambassador to Estonia to clarify its position over its country’s sovereignty. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said the remarks demonstrated why European countries had little faith in China’s ability to broker peace. Lu’s comments contradicted China’s position paper on Ukraine issued in February, which pledges to uphold “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries … big or small”. Photo by Thinkerview, Wikimedia commons.