#18 - RW 274
gazeta.ru
September 18, 2003
Russia, Ukraine divide Sea of Azov

It appears that Ukraine has achieved its first victory in the long-standing row with Russia over the future of the Black Sea Fleet. The first thing Vladimir Putin did after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma on Wednesday was to sign a decree on forming a new Russian naval base in Novorossiisk. This, however, does not mean that Russia intends to abandon its Black Sea Fleet’s main base at Sevastopol, Putin said.

In the run-up to the CIS summit, due on September 18-19, Vladimir Putin and Leonid Kuchma met on Biryuchiy Island in the Sea of Azov. This island, as well as the entire Azov basin, remains a disputed area. As yet, sea borders between Russia and Ukraine have not been delineated. That is to be the main subject of the summit.

On the eve of the meeting Russian officials admitted that one of the main problems the two leaders were to discuss was the so-called Azov problem.

In January this year Putin and Kuchma signed a treaty on the state border between Russia and Ukraine. Since the disintegration of the USSR many sections of the border have remained a bone of contention. Hundreds of small settlements, villages and train stations were caught up in disputed areas, and for years they have been at the centre of the argument. In one of the villages, for example, the border ran along the main street, dividing it into Ukrainian and Russian sides. The only way to cross the road was via a border checkpoint.

Even after the treaty on the state border was signed, problems remained – the main one being the so-called Azov problem. The Russian president stressed on Wednesday that insufficient attention had been paid at government level to the problem of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov basin: ''It's been a long time since this was addressed systemically.''

''Over a lengthy period, the efforts of ministries were concentrated on solving the problems of the Caspian Sea,'' Putin said. He pointed out that this had been an oversight, and that the issue of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov basin needed to be properly addressed in the near future.

''The Azov-Black Sea basin is in Russia’s zone of strategic interests,'' Putin told a meeting with the heads of Russian ministries and agencies devoted to the military and diplomatic aspects of the Black Sea basin development, held after his meeting with Kuchma.

''The Black Sea provides Russia with direct access to the most important global transport routes, including economic ones,'' Putin stressed. He added that ''painstaking work to delineate borders and water areas lies ahead''.

Putin said that during his meeting with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma they had discussed cooperation in the Sea of Azov area and the Black Sea. He said that ''we talked a great deal about it''. Among other things, the final settlement of the legal status of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait came up for discussion. ''The key problem is the territorial issue that remains outstanding,'' Putin said.

During the same meeting Putin signed a document setting up a basing point for the Black Sea Fleet at the Russian port of Novorossiisk. ''This certainly does not mean that we intend to leave the Black Sea Fleet's main base at Sevastopol. We should have a variety of options, and we have a variety of tasks facing the fleet. Therefore, the navy should also have a presence at Novorossiisk,'' Putin told the press after the meeting.

CDI Russia Weekly #274 ~ Contents  •  Next