Russia threatens to 'shut down' Sea of Azov for any Ukrainian vessel

The Russian side commented on the recent arrest of 15 ships that entered ports of the annexed Crimea

09:28, 16 November 2018

Russia seems to be outraged due to the recent detention of ships that entered the seaports of the annexed Crimea. Franz Klintsevich, the member of the Russian parliamentary committee for defense posted this on Facebook.

'This is clearly over the top, out of sight. It doesn't matter if it's about the Russian vessels or those from the foreign states, as all entered the ports of Crimea on a totally legal basis', Klintsevich reported.

According to him, Ukraine 'pushes Russia towards sharp responsive actions'.

'Yes, we can shut down the Sea of Azov for any Ukrainian vessel. And I don't rule out that such actions may follow. At bottom, Ukraine breaks the agreement of the Sea of Azov, and it will be the only one to suffer', Klintsevich wrote.

Previously, Ukraine arrested 15 ships that entered ports of the annexed Crimea. This is due to the Ukrainian law that claims the ports of Crimea (Yevpatoria, Kerch, Sevastopol, Feodosiya, Yalta) closed. The respective legislative acts were approved in April and June 2014.

Thus, any vessel that enters the closed seaports and terminals in the occupied Crimea breach the Ukrainian and the international law. Such action is considered an undermining of Ukraine's sovereignty and results in responsibility for the vessel's owner, operator and the crew.

Comments

Wolf Angel

Member since: 17.06.2018

Messages: 50

17 November 2018, 04:22

Ha ha ha, the agreement on the Sea of Azov required any construction be approved by both countries. Please remove the Kerch Bridge Sad Vlad the Mad, it’s in violation. By the way there is an obvious design flaw. You can tell by photos of the bridge. I don’t expect it will live a long time. You also violate the agreement by harassing Ukrainian ships.