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German Foreign Minister Gayko Maas noted that monitoring of the situation in the Kerch Strait was not progressing significantly. At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stressed that Russia should not be able to manipulate this process.
This is what the heads of the Foreign Ministry said at a joint press conference on Jan. 18.
Read also: Russia must allow the reliable passage of ships in the Kerch Strait – the head of the German Foreign Ministry
Yes, Maas arrived in Kiev immediately after his visit to Moscow – They talked about Ukraine with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov.
"All parties must give their consent (for the introduction of a monitoring mission – Channel 24) It is an open process, and the Russian side also has problems to solve. if this mission had already, "said the German minister.
Maas did not specify the mandate of the mission because, according to him, "everything will depend on the continuation of the negotiations".
For his part, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, stressed that Russia should not have the opportunity to manipulate the introduction of a monitoring mechanism in the Kerch Strait.
Russia should not be able to manipulate surveillance, on which we will reach an agreement. For example, the attempts of the Russian Federation to tighten German and French experts on the port of Kerch and, hence, to politically try to legalize the occupation of Crimea are by definition impossible,
– did he declare. for the Ukraine. He noted that the monitoring should be based on a clear political position regarding the illegality of the usurpation of Russian sovereign rights by Ukraine. The monitoring mechanism should focus on achieving freedom of navigation.
The Ukrainian Minister also added that at a meeting between the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Germany, had agreed to hold expert consultations . After that, negotiations will be possible at the political level.
By the way, German Foreign Minister Gayko Maas said during the talks in Moscow that it was not appropriate to arrest Ukrainian sailors for Germany. The head of the German Foreign Ministry has called for the immediate release of the prisoners.
What do we know about the Russo-Ukrainian conflict in the Kerch Strait? On November 25, 2018, a Russian border ship broke into the Ukrainian military tug near the Kerch Strait. This tug was one of three Ukrainian warships that legally traveled from the port of Odessa to the port of Mariupol.
Nevertheless, in Russia, Ukrainian vessels illegally entered the waters of the temporarily closed Russian territorial sea and made their way to the Kerch Strait.
After the attack, Ukrainian ships continued to go to Mariupol. However, when leaving the Kerch Strait, Russian border ships fired on Ukrainian ships. Because of this, six Ukrainian soldiers were injured.
Russia seized 2 Ukrainian ships and captured 24 Ukrainian sailors. They were then arrested in occupied Crimea and taken to a Moscow SIZO. All Ukrainian sailors announced the opening of an investigation on Russian prisoners of war
On January 15 and 16 in Moscow, the court extended the duration of the arrest of 24 Ukrainian sailors captives – up to 24, in part – until April 26.
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