REUTERS
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov believes that there is no need to renew the agreement, taking into account the annexation of Crimea and the opening of the Kerch Straight bridge.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia is guided by the existing agreement with Ukraine on the Sea of Azov and does not have a position on the revision of the existing regulatory framework following the annexation of Crimea.
“There is no position yet. There is an international legal framework to this effect, and it is valid. This is what we should be guided with,” Peskov told reporters, when asked about the need to renegotiate the deal with Ukraine, according to an UNIAN correspondent in Russia.
UNIAN memo. In December 2003, Russia and Ukraine signed an Agreement on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. However, the issue of sharing waters has not yet been resolved. Kyiv insisted on drawing a dividing line based on the administrative border between the former Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR, which is indicated on the maps and plans. The Russian side believes that in accordance with the legislation of the former USSR, the internal waters between the republics of the Union were never delimited.
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On September 14, 2016, Ukraine initiated a dispute with Russia regarding the violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry noted that Kyiv is ready to prove in arbitration that Russia boldly violates Ukraine’s sovereign rights to enjoy guaranteed rights in its waters and on the continental shelf in the areas adjacent to Crimea, including the right to the natural resources of the continental shelf.
On February 19, 2018, Ukraine submitted to the International Tribunal a memorandum containing a statement of all the circumstances on which Ukraine’s position is based, as well as their legal justification.
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In May of this year, Russia filed with the International Tribunal its objections to the jurisdiction. For this reason, in August, the arbitration decided to divide the case into two components - on jurisdiction and in the merits.
The Foreign Ministry considers unfounded Russia's objections regarding the jurisdiction of the Arbitration to consider its claim.
The UN Tribunal in June 2019 will begin hearings on the jurisdiction of consideration of Ukraine's to the Russian Federation for violation of the Convention on the Law of the Sea.