Estonia, Latvia and Lithuaniamembers of the European Unionthey summoned the Chinese envoys on Monday due to the comments of the Beijing ambassador in Paris, who questioned the sovereignty of the former Soviet nations.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius LandsbergisHe said the diplomats will be asked to explain whether “the Chinese position has changed on independence and to remind them that we are not post-Soviet countries, but countries that were illegally occupied by the Soviet Union”.
the chinese ambassador Lu Shaye said in an interview broadcast on French television on Friday that “These countries of the former USSR do not have a real status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their sovereign status”.
Landsbergis also described the statements as “totally unacceptable” and announced that the three Baltic republics would summon the Chinese diplomatic representatives who are in their territories.
He added that China has “sided with Russia”” from the “political” point of view.
“We have always been saying that we do not trust China as a possible mediator. He has chosen a side, definitively. He is on Russia’s side, politically,” he commented.
He stated that the Chinese ambassador’s words are reminiscent of Russian propaganda about Ukraine, which is now disseminated by “another country, which from our point of view is an ally of Moscow, in many cases, if not militarily, then at least politically.”
European Council meeting
The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrellindicated that the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-seven will address this Monday at their meeting in Luxembourg the statements of Lu Shaye on the status of the nations that were part of the USSR.
“This statement by the Chinese ambassador on the sovereignty and existence of the countries that were part of the Soviet Union It is something that we will discuss”, declared the Spanish politician upon his arrival at the meeting of the ministers.
Asked about the type of response that the foreign ministers will give today to the ambassador’s words, he replied that it will be “certainly, a strong position to clarify what is the official thinking of the Chinese government on the sovereignty and independence of some of the Member States”.
In any case, he stated that he cannot advance the result of the discussion.
He added that the ministers on Monday will begin to discuss Chinawith a view to the EU “recalibrating and reassessing” its strategy towards Beijing in the future.
“We will start to evaluate how we deal with China, how we recalibrate our strategy with China. We have talked a lot about China in recent days, but we will have to keep talking about China because it is one of the most important issues in our foreign policy,” he said.
The President of the European Council, Charles-Michelannounced this Monday that relations between the EU and China will be discussed at the leaders’ summit of the Twenty-seven in June.
“The foreign ministers will prepare that discussion under the leadership of the high representative, Josep Borrell”, he wrote on Twitter.
On Sunday, Borrell already criticized the words of the Chinese diplomat, pronounced during an interview with the French television channel LCI. He called them “unacceptable” on Twitter, adding that the EU “can only assume they do not represent official Chinese policy.”
The Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavsky, today considered the ambassador’s words “totally unacceptable” and stressed that Prague “is denouncing them.”
“I hope this ambassador’s bosses clear things up,” he said.
He added that this is a “surprising” statement by “an official of a State that should understand how international relations are built.”
The Italian owner, Antonio Tajanistated that Beijing is “an interlocutor” that must “respect the position” of the European Union and the community club itself, as well as all the Member States.
He assured that the Twenty-seven respect China and emphasized “the importance of good relations.”
“I disagree with the Chinese ambassador’s speech in France,” he said.
Estonian Minister Margus Tsahkna said it was “clear” that Estonia is “an independent sovereign country.”
The Finn Pekka Haavisto indicated that he shares Borrell’s views on the words of the Chinese diplomat and considered “very important” that the EU countries “coordinate their message towards China closely.”
The Luxembourger Jean Asselborn declared that “the good news” is that in Beijing “they seem to have realized the mistake” of the ambassador.
“China needs to tell us that this position of the ambassador in Paris is not the official position of China,” he said.
With information from EFE
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Source-www.infobae.com