Estonia's Foreign Ministry to summon Chinese ambassador over doubts about post-Soviet countries' sovereignty

The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to summon its Chinese ambassador to seek clarification of comments made by a Chinese diplomat in France about the sovereignty of Estonia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

Source: Margus Tsahkna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, in an interview with Delfi

On Friday, China’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, gave an interview in which he called the sovereignty of Estonia and other post-Soviet countries into question.

Tsahkna said the Chinese diplomat’s remarks were regrettable.

"It is sad that a representative of the People's Republic of China holds such views. Such a position is incomprehensible," he said.

Lu Shaye said in the interview that the former Soviet countries "do not have an effective status in international law" because there is no international agreement that gives substance to their status as sovereign countries.

Moreover, when asked whether he considered Crimea to be part of Ukraine, the ambassador said that "it depends on how you perceive the problem," adding that "it is not that simple".

Ukraine’s ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, has responded robustly to the Chinese diplomat’s remarks.

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