The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the three Baltic states were illegally occupied. A law does not arise from injustice (ex injuria jus non oritur) — this is the principle of international law, according to which the end of the illegal Soviet occupation meant the continuity of the Baltic statehood. The Chinese Ambassador’s remark distorts the history of the Baltic states and other countries. It also undermines the provisions of the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Lithuania of 14 September 1991.
The diplomatic note also highlights that the Chinese Ambassador’s doubt whether Crimea is Ukraine is unacceptable. In 1991, the entire international community, including the People’s Republic of China, internationally recognized Ukraine and Crimea, as an integral part of it. Crimea is and will always be part of Ukraine.
