After Beijing's envoy to France stirred fury in Europe in what was seen in Europe as casting doubt on the sovereignty of ex-Soviet countries, Beijing reaffirmed on Monday that it accepted the "sovereign state status" of the former Soviet states.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning assured reporters that  "China respects the sovereign state status of the participating republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union."

Asserting that states that developed after the fall of the Soviet Union "don't have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations," Beijing's ambassador to France Lu Shaye caused a stir.

Josep Borrell, the head of the EU's foreign policy, called the comments "unacceptable" and added in a tweet that the EU "can only suppose these declarations do not represent China's official policy."

China respects the territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of all nations, according to Mao, who also reaffirmed the goals and tenets of the UN Charter.

She said China was among the first nations to forge diplomatic ties with key nations following the fall of the Soviet Union.

"Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop bilateral friendly and cooperative relations," says the statement.