China said on Monday it respected the sovereign status of all former Soviet states after Beijing's ambassador to France sparked outrage in Europe with an interview.

 This was assured by the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, as quoted by the AFP agency.

 "China respects the status of the sovereign state of the participating republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union," she said.

 The spokeswoman assured that China "respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and supports the goals and principles of the UN Charter."

 "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the relevant states," added the press secretary of the Chinese Ministry.

 She also noted that some mass media misinterpret the position of the People's Republic of China on the Ukrainian issue and "sow discord" in the relations between "China and the relevant countries".

 It will be recalled that Chinese Ambassador Lu Shae expressed the opinion in an interview that the countries of the former USSR "do not have an effective status in international law, since there is no international agreement that would specify their status as a sovereign country."

 He also said that the issue of the territorial ownership of Crimea occupied by the Russian Federation "depends on how to perceive the problem", and that the island "originally belonged to Russia".

 A number of European capitals called these statements unacceptable and called on Beijing to comment on the ambassador's words, and the Baltic states summoned Chinese ambassadors.

 Ambassador of Ukraine to France Vadym Omelchenko sharply reacted to the statements of the Chinese diplomat.