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Moscow. The Azov Sea is known as shallow and hilly water. But the conflict between Russia and Ukraine threatens to turn the inland sea into a new dangerous front. Since the annexation of Crimea by Moscow almost five years ago, and especially since the inauguration of the Crimea Bridge in May, tensions between neighboring states have intensified in the south of the country. Ukraine.
An open confrontation took place on Sunday for the first time: a Russian border guard struck the Ukrainian warship Berdyansk who, along with two other ships, wanted to enter the sea from Azov through the Kerch Strait. The Russians blocked the strait. And they intercepted Ukrainian ships during a prosecution during which shots were fired.
Six members of the Ukrainian Navy were injured in the incident. They are treated in a hospital located on the Crimea, annexed to Moscow. The three boats and 23 crew members are still under Russian custody. Moscow remains silent despite international calls for their release.
Will Poroshenko propose the election?
Ukraine is considering a controversial reaction after the incident: President Petro Poroshenko wants to impose a 30-day martial law. The Kiev parliament was debated during a special session on Monday afternoon. Poroshenko's decree is controversial because martial law would give the executive more rights of intervention and restrict political freedoms. And this could eventually allow a postponement of the presidential election. Politicians of the Ukrainian opposition suspect Poroshenko to suspend his presidential elections problematic in March. Because, according to polls, the head of state in office since May 2014 would lose the ballot from the point of view of the day.
The incident occurred in Azov's sea brought back the forgotten conflict between the two countries on the international scene. The transport of ships was a subject of the United Nations Security Council yesterday. The EU and NATO have condemned the Russian action and called both parties to restraint. The President of the EU Council, Donald Tusk, has promised President Poroshenko a "united" position in Europe.
Kiev announced yesterday that it has recorded the pbadage as usual with Russian coastguards. We have no answer. On the other hand, Moscow is talking about an intrusion into Russian territorial waters. Since the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, which is contrary to international law, the Kremlin attempts to mark the region – land, continental shelf and waters – as "Russian". In a resolution pbaded in October, the European Parliament condemned the military and economic measures taken by Moscow in the Azov Sea. Russia is trying, it is said at one point, to define water as an "inland lake". Third-country vessels have also been subject to undue controls and detentions.
– Source: Graphie News / Graph: "Die Presse" GK
Both parties are allowed to use the sea
He acknowledges that the Kremlin's interpretation is contrary to international legal standards and that he was subject to unpleasant penalties. As the Sunday incident shows, there is no fear of violence. The fact is that a treaty signed in 2003 allows Ukrainian and Russian warships and merchant ships to use the sea and the strait.
The eye of the needle allows control
For Ukraine, the Kerch Strait is the only access to the important ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol. The waterway traditionally serves as a transportation route for the Mariupol steel industry. But the pbadage of ten kilometers long and only four kilometers wide between the Black Sea and the sea of Azov is a bottleneck – controlled by the Russian side since the annexation of Crimea . Ukrainian and foreign ships often have to wait several days before they can be admitted. The vessels are inspected by the Russian authorities, who argue that the risk to safety is increased. The tense security situation is causing considerable losses for the regional economy.
On Monday, the Kerch Strait was again open to navigation. But that does not mean that the tensions in the shallow waters are over.
("Die Presse", printed edition, 27.11.2018)
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