China will continue to firmly support Central Asian countries in safeguarding their independence and territorial integrity, its foreign ministry said, after a senior Chinese envoy in Europe raised an uproar by questioning the sovereignty of those states.
"China will, as always, firmly support Central Asian countries in safeguarding (their) national sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity," the ministry quoted Foreign Minister Qin Gang as saying on Wednesday.
Qin spoke as he met counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the northwestern Chinese city of Xian, a ministry statement said.
"China firmly supports Central Asian countries in choosing their own development paths in light of their national conditions," Qin said, adding that it opposes any external interference in their internal affairs.
Beijing's ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, raised a diplomatic outcry in Europe when, in a French TV interview on April 21, he questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last year, and five other ex-Soviet republics.
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia were also part of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union before it broke up in 1991.
The Chinese foreign ministry distanced itself from Lu's remarks on Monday, and Beijing's embassy in Paris issued a statement saying Lu's comments "were not a political declaration but an expression of his personal views".
Both statements appeared to be an effort to alleviate tension with the EU while the U.S. also cited concerns about growing closeness between Beijing and Moscow.
Qin on Wednesday also pledged to strengthen communications and collaboration with the five Central Asian republics under the frameworks of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, according to his ministry.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang; editing by Mark Heinrich)
