AILSA CHANG, HOST:

China's ambassador to France made some pretty big waves over the weekend with remarks in an interview on French TV.

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LU SHAYE: (Speaking French).

CHANG: That is Ambassador Lu Shaye. He's saying that former Soviet countries do not have, quote, "real status under international law because there's no international agreement affirming them as sovereign countries." China's Foreign Ministry tried to walk the comments back today because they don't align with the country's official position, but the remarks have sparked sharp criticism and raised some tough questions for Europe. We're joined now by NPR's John Ruwitch, who covers China. Hey, John.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Good afternoon.

CHANG: Good afternoon. OK. So I don't get it. The Soviet Union collapsed, like, three decades ago. Why would Lu say those countries don't have true sovereignty?

RUWITCH: Yeah. It's a little puzzling. Lu's remarks came in answer to a question on the talk show about the status of Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia for nine years. He said the territory's status depends on how you view the problem and noted that Crimea had historically been Russian territory. Then he went on to make his remarks about the sovereignty of the post-Soviet states. You know, China's Foreign Ministry, as you said, essentially contradicted him on Monday. A spokeswoman said China was among the first countries to recognize those former Soviet states and has respected their...

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