Ukraine’ s Foreign Ministry opposes unilateral actions about Russian border

Ukraine is going to resolve disputes over the state border with Russia by way of agreement because any unilateral actions can only create numerous problems. So remarked Yury Serheyev, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, on February 28, while commenting on the course of Ukrainian-Russian border talks.

The current situation is that, formally, there is no state borderline between Ukraine and Russia. In January of this year, Ukrainian and Russian efforts resulted in the signing of a state border treaty by the two presidents. The document confirms the existing land border and calls for continued negotiations over the sea borderline. Mr. Serheyev said the treaty was “the main part of the negotiating process, which sets forth in legal terms each of the state’s border coordinates.” Therefore, after the document has been ratified by the two states’ parliaments, it will be possible to delimit, i.e., mark on the map, the land segment of the border. The next problem to tackle is demarcation, i.e., marking the terrain, the land border, and the delimitation of the sea segment. It looks like both sides have not yet reached agreement on both points. Asked by The Day, Mr. Serheyev noted that Russia “is not against demarcation,” but Kyiv and Moscow have opted for an “evolutionary approach to the solution of this problem.” In other words, this implies stage-by-stage agreements, including those on the delimitation of the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov water areas.

Moreover, according to the foreign ministry state secretary, Ukraine considers any unilateral actions in this field “uncivil.” International law allows both Kyiv and Moscow to unilaterally demarcate the land border and delimit the sea line. “But if we want to make a good-neighborly deal, we must try reaching compromise agreements or making decisions that will meet the national interests of both sides,” Mr. Serheyev noted.

The land segment has not yet been demarcated because the Russians make a distorted interpretation of this term. The Russian mass media have been presenting Kyiv’s insistence on demarcation as an intention to put up a new “Berlin wall,” string barbed wire and dig trenches, although in reality demarcation usually calls for border poles alone. The US- Canadian border, for example, is simply marked with stones. No fewer misunderstandings exist with respect to the sea border. Russia insists that the water area of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait be defined as inland waters, with the borderline at the sea bottom only. Ukraine strives for complete delimitation, i.e., across the sea surface, without objecting to the sea areas being defined as inland waters. It is important for Ukraine from several angles that the sea border be clearly delimited. Firstly, it is necessary for the sake of juridical clarity. For example, if some poachers have been caught, under whose laws should they be prosecuted? Secondly, it would help avoid problems in the economic field, e.g., in fishery or transportation. Thirdly, Ukraine should think at least hypothetically about the Euro-Atlantic future it has opted for. For example, if a NATO ship wants to get into the common inland waters, it will have to ask permission of Russia, too.

Mr. Serheyev noted Ukraine was ready to define the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait as inland waters if Russia agrees to have them delimited. Will this ever happen and how long will the two sides be “evolving?” The foreign ministry looks quite optimistic in this respect. Incidentally, this week Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is going to raise the sea border problem with his Russian counterpart in Moscow. Maybe, this will slightly clarify the situation.

INCIDENTALLY

Yury Serheyev did not rule out that the new procedure of travel for the citizens of Ukraine and Russia, which requires having a foreign-travel passport, might be introduced in 2004, but he said January 1, 2004, was a “tentative” date. “We are now discussing where we will be able to produce such a large number of passports,” the diplomat said February 28. Various sources claim Russia earlier suggested that the new border-crossing procedure be introduced on July 1, 2003. This report was later denied. Ukraine in turn said it was too early to impose this new regulation.