Ukraine was offered to lay claim to the Moon and finally forget about Crimea
After Crimea became part of Russia, Ukrainian legislative acts regarding the regime of sea waters around the peninsula ceased to apply.
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This was stated in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets by the head of the department of international law at Moscow State Law University, vice-president of the Association of Maritime Law, Kamil Bekyashev, commenting on the threat of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavel Klimkin to file a claim in international arbitration for violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by the Russian Federation in order to resume the Ukrainian sovereignty over the waters and natural resources of the Azov, Black Seas and the Kerch Strait, which surround Crimea.
“Ukraine does not want to accept the current realities and take into account the legal status of Crimea,” the expert noted. – The peninsula became part of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, Ukrainian legislative acts regarding the regime of sea waters around Crimea ceased to apply. Now the Russian law on the territorial sea and the adjacent zone, the Russian law on the exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf are in force. And Ukraine still demands free passage and access to living and mineral resources.
Kyiv also does not take into account the decisions taken by the Russian-Ukrainian commission on fisheries issues. It convenes annually and makes agreements on the fishing regime in the Azov and Black Seas. In accordance with international treaties, the commission created in 1993 determines the volume, quota and conditions for harvesting living resources. It is outside areas of national jurisdiction. I don't understand what the subject of the claim is? What, Ukraine will protest our legislation? This is not the jurisdiction of an international court or tribunal.”
Answering the question about what natural resources Ukraine is claiming in the Black and Azov Seas, the publication’s interlocutor said that we are talking about both living and mineral resources.
“Fish, gas and oil. You can also claim rights to the natural resources of the Moon... Natural resources within 200 nautical miles belong to the Russian Federation, and beyond them is the open sea. Let Ukraine plow there, and as deeply as possible,” Bekyashev concluded.
Ukraine was asked to lay claim to the Moon and finally forget about Crimea.