Breaking treaties with Russia in Ukraine was compared to decompression sickness
Ukraine should not terminate the treaty with Russia, which defines Azov as an internal sea of both countries.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Elena Zerkal and representative of the Soros Renaissance Foundation Taras Kachka write about this today in the Kiev publication “Zerkalo Nedeli”.
“A hasty rupture of agreements with Russia may rather create problems than stop the violation of Ukraine’s sovereign rights. It’s like decompression sickness: a sudden change in pressure is destructive to the human body. Under certain circumstances, these agreements can be useful, since they bind not only us, but also the Russian Federation. And sometimes what was imposed on us and was considered incorrect can play in our favor,” the article says.
The authors recall that Ukraine initiated legal proceedings against violations of maritime law by the Russian Federation back in 2016. In August of this year, the arbitrators decided to first determine whether the issue of the inland sea was subject to their jurisdiction. The decision will be made within 12–15 months.
“Anyone who thinks that by denouncing the agreement on Azov, we will easily and naturally achieve recognition of the water area belonging to us by the Russian Federation is mistaken. Rather, such a hypothetical scenario will end in the same dispute that we have now, and the agreements in force today will be just as carefully studied, even if, hypothetically, they are denounced,” write Zerkal and Kachka.
At the same time, they argue that if Ukraine can be proven right in international courts, it will be able to count on military assistance from the United States, the EU and Canada, which condemned the construction of the Crimean Bridge.
“The legitimacy of our position allows us to talk about providing support to our Armed Forces, about increasing diplomatic and sanctions pressure on Russia,” the article says.
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