The Ukrainian authorities have officially announced the need to dismantle the Kerch Bridge, as its existence limits international shipping in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. The statement became part of a broader debate about Russia's control over the region's waterways.
This construction is illegal, and it should be dismantled, said the ambassador on special assignment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Anton Korynevych, speaking at the oral hearings at the Arbitration Tribunal in The Hague, Radio Liberty reports.
"Russia now considers the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov, and possibly even parts of the Black Sea, as its own waters. Russia wants these waters to be seen as part of its 21st century empire. And although you will hear Russian experts say that the Sea of Azov is like a lake or a river, Ukraine strongly rejects these claims, and this Tribunal should reject them as well. The Sea of Azov is neither a lake nor the delta of a small river. This is more than 37,000 square kilometers of semi-enclosed sea," said Korynevych.
He added that the Kerch bridge is "illegal and must be dismantled" and the passage through the Kerch Strait should be similar to what it was before the start of this illegal obstruction to shipping.
"The Russian Federation has illegally built a permanent obstacle to the passage through this vital sea route (the Kerch Strait - KR) - an extremely low bridge. A bridge that is lower than indicated in the results of Russian studies; lower than Russia's own commercial interests require; and shorter than any other bridge currently built or even proposed to be built over an international strait. "Because of it, some of the main classes of vessels used in international trade can no longer pass through the strait," Korinevych said.
The representative of Ukraine also reported that Russia obstructed passage through the Kerch Strait and shipping in the Sea of Azov in other ways.
"It delayed vessels seeking to transit to Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov for 40 hours, while vessels bound for Russia only for 3 hours. It arbitrarily prohibited passage through the Kerch Strait to ships of foreign states... Russia introduced a regime of mandatory one-way passage in the Kerch Strait and established a pilotage regime in such a way that only Russian vessels could avoid it. These are only violations related to freedom of navigation," said Korynevych.
On September 23, the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitration Court in The Hague began hearing the merits of Ukraine's claim against Russia regarding violation of the right of a coastal state under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
