Representative of her Ministry of Foreign Affairs ChinaMao Ning said today that her statements about China’s respect for the sovereignty and independence of all countries also reflect Beijing’s official position on the issue.

The stance comes after a backlash from a statement by China’s ambassador to France, who questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet countries such as Ukraine in an interview on Friday.

Mao was asked today if the post of ambassador is in line with China’s official position.

Baltic countries call for Chinese ambassadors

It is noted that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will invite Chinese ambassadors to their capitals today after the statements of the Chinese ambassador.

“The three Baltic states will call the ‘Chinese envoys’ during the day to ask for clarification whether China’s position on independence has changed, and to remind them that we are not post-Soviet countries, but countries that it illegally occupied by the Soviet Union,” the Foreign Minister said. Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis on the sidelines of the meeting of European Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg.

Recall that Chinese Ambassador to France Lou Sage, when asked about his position on whether Crimea is part of Ukraine or not, said on Friday in an interview with French television that Crimea is historically part of Russia and was offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

“These former Soviet countries have no real status in international law because there is no international agreement to exercise their sovereign status,” Lou Sage added.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters, AFP.}