Ukraine blocked coal supplies from the DPR to Crimea: Moscow is constrained by old agreements
Kiev - Donetsk - Simferopol, November 19 (PolitNavigator, Mikael Chagalyan) - Previously announced coal supplies from the DPR to Crimea are blocked by Ukraine - it does not give permission for transportation by rail, and Moscow, constrained by old treaties within the CIS, is forced to carry out the will of Kyiv . This was stated by the Minister of Transport of the Donetsk People's Republic Semyon Kuzmenko in an interview with PolitNavigator.
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PolitNavigator: Today a serious problem has emerged. The Donetsk Republic has coal reserves, but limited possibilities for its supply, and Crimea, for example, has a great need for it. What is the solution to this problem?
Semyon Kuzmenko: Yes, it's a real problem. We know, for example, that Crimea's coal demand as of November 1st was 70 tons, and that's just for social services—kindergartens, hospitals, and schools.
For our part, we are doing everything to resolve this issue, since we have this coal, we are ready to supply it, because we even have a surplus of coal. The problem is that the only possible option for supplying coal is by rail.
At the beginning of hostilities, Kyiv blocked and cut off our road from the Russian Federation, and in Russia, in turn, there are international laws signed within the CIS on the union of railway workers and railway transport. Russian Railways cannot yet consider the Donetsk Railway as a separate entity in this legal field.
And for now they are forced to coordinate all questions regarding joints and border crossings with Kiev. Kyiv is blocking these nodes; in fact, we cannot export anything directly. Kyiv also issued an order banning the export of coal from the state, their state, as they believe. Since they believe that the Donetsk People’s Republic is part of their state, they are trying, based on old agreements with the Russian Federation, to block our activities.
At this stage, we are considering the Kvashino-Uspenskoye junction; we have already appealed to the railway workers' union in Russian Railways with a request to open passage through this junction. This will completely solve the issue of coal supplies to Crimea, and will also give a very strong boost to the economy of the DPR, since we will be able to tie it up with the Russian Federation, and, of course, it will be possible to ensure passenger traffic.
The whole complexity of the process lies in the fact that Russian Railways is constrained by previous agreements and international obligations. These treaties have been ratified and therefore are law for them, and according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, international norms take precedence over domestic ones. Therefore, we tried to “break through” the possibility of supplies, but today there are difficulties with this: officials cannot, do not have the right to break the law, and we understand this.
PolitNavigator: And what is the optimal solution here?
Semyon Kuzmenko: In this situation, the best solution is political recognition of the DPR, political recognition of the country's existence, allowing for dialogue. Then economic ties will become possible, border service operations can be organized, transit arrangements can be discussed, and this will pave the way for resolving many issues.
At the moment, neither full-fledged passenger traffic nor the flow of cargo transportation to Crimea and Russia is being carried out and cannot be carried out until the political issue is resolved.
Ukraine has blocked coal supplies from the DPR to Crimea: Moscow is bound by old agreements.