Kerch Strait continues to be focus of dispute between Ukraine and Russia (10/19/03)

Kerch Strait continues to be focus of dispute between Ukraine and Russia

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukraine sent border troops into the Kerch Strait on October 10 as Russia continued construction of a dam near the Ukrainian border over Ukrainian diplomatic efforts to halt the project. If completed, the dam would link Russia's Taman peninsula with the Ukrainian island of Tuzla.

The decision to reinforce normal border patrols with additional troops came after Moscow and Kyiv had seemingly settled a dispute over Russia's decision to build a narrow stone-and-concrete abutment from the Taman Peninsula, found at the far southwestern reach of the country, to connect it with the tiny Ukrainian island of Tuzla, located some 3 miles from the peninsula in the center of the Kerch Strait.

With Moscow ducking calls by Kyiv to halt the project, the small, nearly uninhabited island - which was part of the mainland until a series of storms in 1925 washed away the spit that connected it - is now the focal point of a developing crisis.

The dispute began after Russia transported dozens of pieces of large earth-moving equipment and hundreds of laborers into the area on September 29 and work began in earnest on building a concrete barrier in the direction of Tuzla. By October 13 the dam was two-thirds of the distance to Tuzla. Experts predict that at the current rate of construction the dam should reach the island by October 24.

Mykola Lytvyn, director of Ukraine's State Border Services, visited the island on October 13, and announced that a detachment of an unspecified number of border guards had arrived the previous Friday in response to the Russian actions. Mr. Lytvyn told Interfax-Ukraine that the troops had full authority, short of the use of firepower, to enforce the border.

"This does not mean that they will simply be onlookers, they have sufficient troops and skills for initiating operations and detaining violators in any situation," explained Mr. Lytvyn.

The border guards have been equipped with spotlights, radar, engineering equipment and communications systems to make certain that the Russian construction effort does not violate Ukrainian territory and to keep Kyiv officials abreast of the latest developments.

Various Ukrainian attributes are predominantly displayed on the island's shores and signs have been erected identifying the territory as belonging to Ukraine, "so that no one can have any doubts regarding its ownership," explained Mr. Lytvyn on October 14 during a hearing on the controversy in Ukraine's Parliament.

Moscow has taken a laconic stance in responding to the dispute, stating repeatedly only that it has no intention of violating the Ukrainian border. Kyiv claims, however, that Moscow already has violated the treaty on state borders signed by the two countries in 1994 by not giving advance notice of its intention to begin construction in a border area in the first place.

Markian Lubkivskyi, spokesman for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on October 14 that, in accordance with Article 5 of the agreement, Moscow should have obtained an agreement with Kyiv before proceeding with its intention to build in the Kerch Strait.

"There was no agreement and we think that this meets neither international law nor international practice," explained Mr. Lubkivskyi, who also noted that Russia's explanation that it is merely building on its own territory offers an inadequate defense for its action.

During talks in Moscow on October 4, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov assured his Ukrainian counterpart, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, that Russia would not violate any existing treaties. Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry took Mr. Ivanov's assurance to mean that not only would construction not pierce the Ukrainian border, which it has been determined begins merely 50 meters from the shore of Tuzla Island, but that it would be halted altogether. Yet, construction has continued and Moscow has failed to note what the end point will be. Moscow also has failed to respond to three diplomatic notes, the last one sent on October 13.

Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry has supported the view of political experts who see the Russian actions as a ploy to force Kyiv to abandon its resistance to common control over the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. They believe Moscow wants to put pressure on Ukraine to abandon its unwavering stance to have both the sea and the strait delimited in accordance with international standards. Russia would prefer that the bodies of water remain under joint control, which would give it influence over water traffic into and out of the region and give it access to Ukraine's better fisheries, as well as negotiating rights for oil and gas that may be located on the Ukrainian side.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleksander Motsyk echoed this viewpoint during the Verkhovna Rada hearing on the matter. Mr. Motsyk stated that Russia was trying to use construction of the dam to gain an advantage in bilateral talks on delimitation of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, which have been stalled because neither side is willing to give ground on the matter.

"In our opinion, attempts to influence the outcome in this manner only hinder further negotiations," declared Mr. Motsyk during his presentation.

On October 15, Novyi Kanal, a prominent Ukrainian television network, reported that Russia's minister of foreign affairs had plainly stated that day that the current dispute would quickly be resolved if in fact Ukraine would agree not delimit the Sea of Azov, as Russia and its neighbors have already agreed to do in the Caspian Sea, ostensibly because Tuzla Island would then be jointly owned.

That same day Ukraine's Minister of Defense Yevhen Marchuk offered that a better idea would be for Ukraine and Russia to address the United Nations Security Council to present both sides of the disagreement and then allow that body to decide the best solution. Mr. Marchuk, who is a former general in the Soviet KGB and an ex-prime minister of Ukraine, acknowledged that Ukraine would take that step only if Russia should violate the Ukrainian border.

A diplomat from Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry, seemingly exasperated by Moscow's inadequate responses, made a somewhat undiplomatic comment on October 14 as to how it viewed common control of the Azov and the Kerch Strait.

"If it was a civilized country, and if we had normal historical relations, joint control would not be a concern," explained one Ukrainian diplomat who requested anonymity.

After its October 15 hearing, the Verkhovna Rada approved a resolution, with 250 lawmakers in support, demanding that Russia halt construction of the dam. It called on Russia's upper house of Parliament, the Federal Assembly, "to intervene to halt any unilateral actions that contradict the principles of good neighborly relations and the strategic partnership between the two states."

The Ukrainian Parliament declared that should Moscow refuse to comply with Ukrainian demands it reserved the right "to initiate all measures provided by international legal norms to guarantee the sovereignty of the state," including turning to the United Nations Security Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Parliament also noted that the barrier itself was an ecological hazard, as it would change the currents in the strait with unforeseen consequences likely.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia have scheduled a meeting in Kyiv for October 30 to attempt to resolve the dispute.

| Home Page |