2000 Kilometer Compromise

The frontier delimitation between Ukraine and Russia has been completed, a Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs envoy is quoted as saying at an October 31 press conference. According to him some 1,300 border points have been agreed upon and registered in advance. “This has been done on the border section stretching from the Druzhba (Friendship) Hill in Chernihiv oblast to the Sea of Azov,” Mr. Kostenko added. The envoy pointed out that as of today some thirty border points with a total of 200 border crossings are disputed. The sections to be agreed upon border on the territories of Russia’s Rostov oblast along with Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, Interfax-Ukraine reports. “Special care should be taken with the determination of these points as they are dispersed through densely-populated areas,” he stressed. The envoy also stated that as previously Ukraine insists on the delimitation of the whole length of the common border, “both land and sea.” Mr. Kostenko announced that presently the offers put forth by the Russian side concerning border delimitation in the area of the Sea of Azov and the straight of Kerch are being analyzed. “The stumbling block is that the delimitation criteria the Russians offer for water resources differs from those for seabed resources and fossil fuels in particular,” the envoy emphasized. According to him, the Ukrainian side has analyzed these offers and has come up with “its own counterproposals.” In response to the question about the demarcation of the Russian-Ukrainian border, Mr. Kostenko stated that “the demarcation has not begun and is not due for this in the immediate future.” Speaking about the terms on which the work is being done, the envoy noted that “according to realistic predictions, the Ukrainian and Russian presidents will sign the agreement on the land frontier no sooner than next summer,” Incidentally, the process of border delimitation between Ukraine and Russia began on April 1, 1998. The Ukrainian-Russian border extends over 2,000 kilometers.