"The rules of law on our side": how did the Crimea react to the German proposal on the Kerch Strait

Crimean politicians questioned that the admission of the Ukrainian side to monitor the navigation regime in the Kerch Strait would help resolve the situation in the region. Parliamentarians believe that in the case of involvement in this process, Kiev will try to politicize the situation or even block the work of observers.

Recall, on the eve of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the initiative, which during the negotiations presented his German counterpart Heiko Maas. According to him, this proposal “packs” an invitation made by Moscow to specialists from Germany and France on the spot to assess the situation in the Kerch Strait in a document that should be agreed with Kiev.

“We said honestly: if our colleagues are interested in what the Russian president promised the German chancellor, this can be done at any time. If the idea is to clothe all this in some kind of political procedure in which the Ukrainian side will make certain decisions, then we risk being in the same situation as the Norman format with Steinmeier’s formula turned out to be, ”Lavrov said.

The minister added that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead to the visit of German and French specialists to the Kerch Strait area more than a month ago, but so far not a single observer has arrived there to monitor free passage through the strait waters. At the same time, Lavrov reiterated that the Kerch Strait has always been a free shipping zone, however, the November provocation of the Ukrainian Navy ships is not relevant to this issue because of the violations intentionally committed by the Ukrainian side.

According to Andrei Kozenko, a State Duma deputy from Crimea, Moscow is ready to allow European representatives to monitor the procedure for negotiating and passing ships through the Kerch Strait, since this is a transparent process from the point of view of legal norms.

At the same time, the interlocutor of RT noted the existing danger that foreign experts could give distorted assessments of what was happening. For example, there were similar precedents during a series of elections.

“It was all right, there are no violations, and they come and declare things that go against what was actually happening. There should be a clear fixation of what is happening so that there is no substitution of facts, ”Kozenko said.

“I think that openness is the best way to show the world what is really going on,” he said.

However, the parliamentarian expressed the opinion that if Ukraine is involved in this process, Kiev will try to politicize the situation and use it for its own purposes.

In turn, the deputy of the Crimean State Council Vladislav Ganzhara in a conversation with RT stated that the Ukrainian authorities are interested in creating provocative situations around Russia. In light of this, the involvement of Western experts and the formation of an alternative point of view of Berlin may prevent Kiev from continuing to conduct information provocative activities.

“Ukraine will try to sabotage such actions, therefore I share the position that the admission of Ukrainian representatives to such a format will block its work. The dialogue that has taken place makes it possible to say that, including in Europe, they are really still trying to look at what is happening in Ukraine, on the other hand. This inspires a certain optimism that the one-sided position of the USA and Ukraine in Europe is losing its supporters, ”said the deputy.

Ganjara added that the Federal Republic of Germany is now under serious pressure because of the Nord Stream 2 project, and the growing contradictions in the Western world allow Russia to look for “windows of opportunity”.

“We are well aware that the rules of law and the law are on our side, such a format might have borne fruit if the Ukrainian side is not there, because Ukraine’s admission to any constructive structure will not lead,” the parliamentarian summed up.

At the same time, the chairman of the Crimean parliamentary committee on inter-ethnic relations, Yuri Gempel, told RIA Novosti that the arrival of specialists from Germany and France to familiarize themselves with the situation in the Kerch Strait would confirm Moscow’s compliance with all international shipping standards.

“Crimea has nothing to hide. We are open, including on the situation around the Kerch Strait. The proposal, which was received from Angela Merkel, is quite reasonable and correct, if the German and French sides are ready to conduct a constructive dialogue and give an objective assessment of everything that is happening in the Kerch Strait. The arrival of such specialists will only prove Russia's strict observance of all international norms and rules of navigation, ”stressed Gempel.

At the same time, he noted that, in principle, Ukrainian experts could also be involved in this work, but there is no confidence in their impartiality and objectivity. Especially in the light of the foreign policy, which adheres to Kiev.

“We have repeatedly been convinced that the President of Ukraine and his team are not inclined towards a constructive process,” added Gempel.

Recall that after the November incident in the Kerch Strait, German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed expanding the mandate of the OSCE mission in Ukraine in the waters of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait. However, Sergei Lavrov pointed out the futility of such initiatives, since, in order to maintain a normal situation in these waters, he said, not mediators are needed, but strict observance of safety rules during the passage of the Kerch Strait.

Later, the Federal Chancellor of Germany asked the Russian leader for permission to send specialists from the Federal Republic of Germany and France to the area of ​​the Crimean Bridge and received consent for this step. However, this initiative has not yet received further development.

“We hope there will be no provocation, although loud statements were already voiced from Kiev that they are about to organize a breakthrough through the Kerch Strait ... It remains to be hoped that during non-public communication of European colleagues with the Kiev authorities, the Ukrainian regime is still being said directly, what it needs to do to comply with its obligations, whether under the Minsk agreements or international conventions on human rights, freedom of linguistic, religious and national minorities, ”said Lavrov on the eve of the negotiations with the head of the German Foreign Ministry.

We add that after the meeting in Moscow with Sergey Lavrov, the German Foreign Minister went to Kiev, where he held talks with the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Pavel Klimkin. During the press conference, Maas said that at present in the Kerch Strait there is free passage of vessels. According to him, this regime should be ensured in the future.

In turn, Klimkin noted that he and Maas agreed to hold an expert meeting soon to discuss a common vision of the monitoring mission in the Kerch Strait. The head of the German Foreign Ministry added that Berlin and Paris are ready to assume the costs of ensuring the activities of such a mission.