Paris ambassador Lu Shaye's comments last week caused widespread outrage, leading on calls to Beijing to clarify. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, quoted by AFP, that the diplomats would be asked to explain if the Chinese position had changed on independence and reminded that "we're not post-Soviet countries but we're the countries that were illegally occupied by Soviet Union". He told French media in June 2021 that he was "honoured" to be given this title because there were so many "mad hyenas attacking China"