Russia wins arbitration on the rights of a coastal state in the Black Sea

Russia has won a dispute with Ukraine in international arbitration on rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. This was reported on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 15.

As a result of the 10-year trial, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected all accusations by the Ukrainian side of violations of the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea.

"Kiev's efforts to challenge the sovereignty of the Russian Federation over the Crimean Peninsula and adjacent maritime areas have failed," the statement said.

It is clarified that Ukraine was denied the return of control over hydrocarbon, fish and other resources in the waters of Crimea and the Azov Sea. In addition, Russia will not pay compensation and reparations for the use of the waters and the alleged damage.

The court also recognized the Kerch Strait as Russian, rejecting demands to make it international so that ships, including military ones, could sail freely along it.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on May 31 that the pre—trial stage of the settlement of disagreements between Russia and the three Baltic states — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - was in its final stages due to the infringement of the rights of the Russian-speaking population.