Russia does not prohibit Ukrainian ships from passing through the Kerch Strait, but ships must follow the necessary procedures and follow international law. This was stated by RT deputy of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladislav Ganzhara, commenting on the words of the adviser to the president of Ukraine Yuri Biryukov that Kiev intends to continue to lead its vessels on the Kerch-Yenikalsky channel.
“If the Ukrainian side requests, in the order established from the point of view of maritime and international law, permission to cross the Kerch Strait and pass Ukrainian ships under the Kerch Bridge, this will not cause questions from our side. There is a procedure that, even before the incident in the strait, allowed Ukrainian, including military, ships to pass under the bridge, ”said Ganzhara.
At the same time, according to him, after the November incident, “any passes of the Ukrainian ships cause Russia special attention,” since it is difficult to imagine “what provocation they are ready to go to.”
“The warships are no longer with the Ukrainian fleet. Those vessels that are currently arrested, probably, were his flagships. There is nobody and nothing to send them. Ukrainian sailors are very demoralized after what happened to their colleagues, and the fact that the leadership set them up. Despite the Ukrainian rhetoric, warships will be difficult to see in the Kerch Strait, ”explained the Crimean deputy.
Earlier, Yuri Biryukov, an adviser to the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and the minister of defense of Ukraine, Stepan Poltorak, warned Moscow against “new provocations” in the Kerch Strait. According to him, the next time the Ukrainian sailors will allegedly be under the supervision of international observers.
“Everything is very simple here. According to international agreements, laws, agreements, Ukrainian warships have the right of unhindered passage from the Black to the Sea of Azov and vice versa. The end of the story. Yes, we will continue to do it regardless of whether Russians like it or not. We will continue to do this, ”said Biryukov on the Ukrainian Fifth Channel.
It should be noted that earlier other officials of Ukraine, in particular, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov, declared similar intentions. According to him, this is a matter of principle for Kiev, which “cannot be delayed”. The head of the National Security and Defense Council proposed to take part in the passage through the Kerch Strait to "partners of Ukraine, representatives of the OSCE and other international organizations."
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry interpreted the words of Turchinov as preparation for the next provocation.
“This is just another provocation ad. It is absolutely irresponsible and is intended only to aggravate the situation ... Many partners of Ukraine are really trying to start looking for ways to de-escalate, ”Zakharova said at a briefing.
However, later, the Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons, Yuri Grymchak, proposed to send the ship to the Kerch of Great Britain to the Kerch-Yenikalsky Canal.
“There will be 20, and 30, and 100 (passes. - RT ), and this will always be because the Sea of Azov is part of Ukraine. Mariupol, Berdyansk - our ports, it’s part of Ukraine, it’s part of our economy. And we definitely will not give up our right of free passage through the Kerch Strait in compliance with all international norms and laws, ”noted the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak.
Meanwhile, Moscow emphasizes that there are no obstacles to the passage of Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait. As the press secretary of the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov, clarified, due to the rather intensive international navigation in this area there is a certain procedure for technical notification of the Kerch port authorities, which must be followed.
There is an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the free passage of ships, including the military, but they have no right to make provocations, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor of Moscow State University said in a conversation with RT.
“They can freely pass through the strait, but only pass. They have no right to linger there, they cannot leave the channel of the strait and approach the territorial waters of the Russian Federation. They are not entitled to provocations either, ”the expert said.
According to him, the incident in the Kerch Strait, which occurred on November 25, was a pre-planned armed provocation, because the ships of the Ukrainian Navy invaded the territorial waters of Russia.
Manoylo believes that Kiev intends to repeat the provocation. As the expert believes, the Ukrainian authorities hope that international observers will agree to participate in it, and then Russia will have to detain them for violating the border. “Then they will come out with loud protests, and the whole Western liberal world will join them,” the political analyst emphasized in an interview with RT.