Sparring With Romania
The new round of Ukrainian-Romanian talks on concluding a state border treaty and an agreement on delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zones of Ukraine and Romania has produced only an exchange of statements between Kyiv and Bucharest. The Ukrainian foreign ministry statement says, in particular, that the negotiations “have not yet produced any positive results,” while the Romanians “never took a constructive approach to the matters that are the subject of the talks.” It seems to be for the first time since the talks started that Kyiv blames Bucharest in rather harsh terms for failure to show political will and for “deadlocking the negotiations on the essence of the aforesaid treaty and agreement.” The statement also says that “throughout the negotiations, the delegation of Romania was and still is making proposals that run counter to the obligations the two sides assumed in accordance with the Treaty on Good Neighborly Relations and Cooperation between Ukraine and Romania of 1997 and the Agreement between the Governments of Ukraine and Romania concluded by exchanging letters of the ministers of foreign affairs dated June 2, 1997. These proposals aim to call into question the existing line of the Ukrainian-Romanian state border inherited from the former USSR and Romania as part of legal succession.” In other words, the Romanian side is in fact being accused of trying to revise the existing border line in its own favor. The statement says that the Ukrainian side is again confirming its readiness and determination to sign by June 1, 2003 a treaty on the Ukrainian-Romanian state border and, if and when possible, an agreement on delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zones of Ukraine and Romania in the Black Sea, as was agreed upon by the presidents of Ukraine and Romania (during the visit of Romanian President Ion Iliescu last September — Ed.).
The foreign ministry of Romania lost no time in answering: Bucharest categorically denies the Ukrainian officials’ statements about alleged differences over Zmiyiny Island. The Romanian foreign ministry claims that the Ukrainian side flatly refused to discuss the essence of the Zmiyiny Island problem during the latest meeting of experts and, conversely, is accusing Bucharest of having no political will to recognize the existing state border between Romania and Ukraine. The Romanian foreign ministry’s communiquО confirms the principle of the inviolability of borders between the two countries.
The talks on the Ukrainian-Romanian border create a lasting impression that they are being held just to enable both sides to blame each other for lack of any constructive attitude. Although both deny having any territorial claims and express a desire to come to a compromise in order to make a constructive decision, the years of negotiations have yielded no results. This situation cannot but cause irritation.
All that is known about the Romanian position is that Bucharest, no longer questioning the Ukrainian status of Zmiyiny Island, claims that it is in fact a promontory and demands that the shelf and the exclusive economic zones be shared out with due account of this. Ukraine says in response that it is a populated and cultivated island (in reality, it has always had only a military unit, while some development began a short time ago). Neither side intends to refer the problem to the International Court, for it would cost a great deal. In all probability, each position has some drawbacks — otherwise, the problem would have been solved long ago. It is already obvious that the unsolved border problem will not keep Romania from joining NATO: when asked about this, representatives of NATO and Western countries pretend they are hearing this for the first time or recall the never-ending squabbles between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar. However, if the problem remains unsolved, it will be impossible to prospect for the likely deposits of oil and gas on the continental shelf or to fully utilize water resources. It is perhaps this that in fact makes both sides unwilling to hear each other’s arguments. Diplomats also note that all the neighbors of Romania have had, at various times, problems in negotiations. Kyiv also affirms that even if the border treaty is not signed before June 1, as the presidents agreed, Ukraine will have nothing to fear.
