Chinese ambassador unexpectedly supports Ukraine's desire to liberate Crimea

Fu Cong, Chinese ambassador to the European Union, has said that he does not rule out Beijing's support for Ukraine's desire to restore its territorial integrity by returning to the borders of 1991.

Source: Fu, in an interview with several media, including Al Jazeera, as reported by European Pravda

Details: When journalists asked the Chinese diplomat about supporting Ukraine's goals, in particular the return of Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, he replied,"I don’t see why not".

Quote: "We respect the territorial integrity of all countries. So when China established relations with the former Soviet Union, that’s what we agreed on. But as I said, these are historical issues that need to be negotiated and resolved by Russia and Ukraine and that is what we stand for," Fu said.

AL Jazeera noted that this is not the first such comment by China's ambassador to the EU. In an interview with The New York Times in April, Fu stated that China does not endorse Russia's efforts to annex Ukrainian territories, particularly Crimea and Donbas.

While other Chinese officials and the Foreign Ministry usually refrain from such comments, Fu emphasised in a recent interview that China's position on Ukraine "has been very clear".

"We advocate peace and we believe that it is important to achieve peace as soon as possible by resolving differences at the negotiating table," he said.

For reference: Cooperation between Moscow and Beijing strengthened after Russia decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

China refused to criticise Moscow's actions, instead accusing the US and NATO of provoking the Kremlin, and criticised sanctions against Russia. The latter, in turn, strongly supported China regarding the tension in relations with the United States over Taiwan.

Background: In April, Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, said in an interview that former Soviet republics "lack effective status in international law because there is no international agreement to give substance to their status". 

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