Chinese Diplomat Sparks Outrage with Comments on Ex-Soviet States' Sovereignty

China's ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, has sparked outrage among the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia after questioning the independence of former Soviet countries like Ukraine. Shaye argued that former Soviet countries have no "effective status" in international law and that Crimea was historically part of Russia. The Baltic states have summoned Chinese diplomats to provide explanations and called for a complete retraction of the statement. France has expressed its "full solidarity" with the affected countries and called on China to clarify its position.