“Such a coordinated decision to call representatives of China on Monday has been made”, Lithuanian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Paulina Levickite was quoted as saying. Last Friday 21, the French channel LCI posted a quote on Twitter from an interview with Lu Shae. Commenting on the status of Crimea, he suggested that: “even the countries of the former USSR do not have an actual status under international law, because there is no international treaty that would specify their status as sovereign states”. 🗣 @DariusRochebin : "Est-ce que la Crimée, à vos yeux, c'est l'Ukraine ?" 🗣 Lu Shaye : "Ça dépend comment on perçoit le problème […] Ce n'est pas si simple." 📺 #La26 pic.twitter.com/nspLMs9HO8 — LCI (@LCI) April 21, 2023 These comments of his concern not only Ukraine – which Russia invaded in February last year – but also all the countries that belonged to the Soviet Union at the time. They all became independent states after the collapse of the USSR, including many who are now members of the European Union. When asked if he thought Crimea belonged to Ukraine, Lu Shaye said that: “it depends on how you perceive the issue”, adding that: “it’s not that simple. There is a story. Initially, Crimea was Russian”, he asserted. Lu Shae’s comments led the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to state that it was stunned by the statements of the Chinese ambassador to France that the countries of the former Soviet Union do not have an effective status in international law. It issued a statement yesterday, Saturday 22, in which the department said: “It is for China to say for itself whether these statements reflect its position, and we hope that they do not”. Tweeting on Saturday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote: “If anyone is still wondering why the Baltic countries do not trust China to ‘mediate peace in Ukraine’, here is the Chinese ambassador proving that Crimea is Russian and our countries’ borders have no legal basis”. 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. pic.twitter.com/JaloJnSEx3 — Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) April 22, 2023 His colleague from Latvia, Edgaras Rinkevičius, emphasised that: “the remarks of the Chinese ambassador to France regarding international law and the sovereignty of countries are completely unacceptable. We look forward to an explanation from the Chinese side and a complete retraction of this statement”. Kinijos ambasadorius Prancūzijoje pakartojo rusijos propagandinius pasakojimus ir suabejojo buvusių sovietinių respublikų suverenitetu Ambasadorius Lu Shai naujienų kanalo „La Chaîne Info“ eteryje sakė, kad 2014 m. aneksuotas Krymas „iš pat pradžių priklausė rusijai ir so… — Šlovė Ukrainai (@SlavaUkraini_LT) April 23, 2023 Margus Tsahkna, the head of Estonian diplomacy, also condemned the mentioned comments of the Chinese diplomat. “The statements of the Chinese diplomat are incomprehensible and we condemn such comments towards an independent and sovereign country”. The comments by the Chinese representative on independent & sovereign states are false & a misinterpretation of history. Baltic states under international law have been sovereign since 1918 but were occupied for 50 years. https://t.co/0PlUmRR2S6 — Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) April 22, 2023 He added: “Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to summon the representative of the People’s Republic of China in Estonia and, if necessary, we will inform him about our history. Our goal is to clearly show that such views are unacceptable and that Estonia is a sovereign country”.