Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday criticized recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Taiwan was provoking China, saying that they were a “distortion.”
Putin’s remarks about Taiwan during a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Russian city of Sochi on Thursday were “a complete distortion of the truth,” MOFA said in a press release.
Taiwan “strongly condemns” the Russian leader for comments that “disparage Taiwan” by labeling it as part of China and “misrepresent Taiwan’s sovereign status,” MOFA said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and the Chinese Communist Party has never controlled Taiwan, the ministry added.
MOFA was responding to Putin’s comments that echoed Beijing’s territorial claims over Taiwan and accusations that Taiwan was stirring up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia to attract outside support, Reuters reported.
The ministry said that democratic nations around the world had responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with condemnation and punitive measures as a show of support for Ukrainians’ fight for their survival and sovereignty, as well as a joint defense of universal values.
Taiwan, faced with military threats from China, has steadfastly worked to protect its own survival and sovereignty, as well as served on the front line of safeguarding democracy and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA added.
Leaders from Russia, which reaffirmed its “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” with China in May, have on more than one occasion publicly advocated for Beijing’s claims over Taiwan.
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