Representatives of Russia and Ukraine could not resolve the differences regarding the incident in the Kerch Strait at the first meeting of the interstate arbitration in The Hague. It was formed at the request of Ukraine on the basis of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This was announced on November 23 by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Despite the earlier attempts by the parties to reach an agreement on controversial issues, fundamental disagreements remain between them, which were submitted to the meeting. In the course of it, however, the parties failed to resolve any of them, ”the Russian diplomatic service said in a statement.
The meeting in question took place on November 21 and was limited, as noted in the Russian Foreign Ministry, to “approval of procedural documents”.
“As a result, the arbitration itself will have to decide on the“ hanging ”issues, including the need to divide the process into two stages - jurisdictional (establishing whether the arbitration has the competence to consider this case) and substantive (substantive proceedings), which the Russian firmly and consistently insists side, ”the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.
According to the Foreign Ministry, in the near future the arbitration should adopt procedural documents, after which the consideration of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine will begin on the merits.
Compensation Claims
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Olena Zerkal previously stated that in technical decisions the arbitration went towards the Ukrainian side.
"From today, our case is called" The dispute over the detention of three Ukrainian naval ships and their crew members. " It was very important for us to record in the title not only Russia's violation of international law, but also to reflect that this dispute concerns our sailors who spent nine months in prison. And the arbitration heard us, ”Mirror wrote on Facebook.
The representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that the case under consideration in the arbitration “will not be very fast”, but “one must fight for dignity and freedom to the end.” According to Zerkal, Kiev intends to obtain "proper compensation".
In April, Ukraine appealed to the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg with a request to return the ships and release the sailors. Then the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko promised that the international court would recognize Russia's actions as unlawful.
- Meeting of the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
- Reuters
- © Fabian Bimmer
In May, the tribunal ordered the adoption of urgent “temporary measures” in connection with the appeal of Ukraine. He decided to return the ships and sailors to their homeland, but did not issue a verdict on the legality of Russian actions. The court stated that it did not consider it necessary to require Moscow to suspend the investigation against Ukrainian sailors.
At the same time, Russia indicated that the issue of the detention of Ukrainian vessels in Russian waters does not fall under the jurisdiction of the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
“In the course of the subsequent arbitration, we intend to consistently uphold our position, including the lack of jurisdiction of the arbitration tribunal to consider this situation in the light of the above circumstances,” the diplomatic service said then.
“Property Claims”
Recall, “Berdyansk”, “Nikopol” and “Yany Kapu” were detained in November last year during an attempt to illegally cross the Russian border in the Kerch Strait region. The crews of these ships were arrested.
On September 7, detainees were returned to Ukraine in the framework of earlier agreements on the exchange of detainees and convicts. November 18, Russia returned to Ukraine and ships. The Russian Foreign Ministry then noted that the ships were transferred “for safekeeping”.
- Zelensky meets ships in Ochakovo
- Reuters
- © Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
Ships in the port of Ochakovo were personally met by President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. At the same time, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Admiral Igor Voronchenko, hastened to accuse Russia of missing property from ships, including toilet bowls, sockets and shades, and Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev would seek their return.
In response to the allegations, the FSB of Russia published footage of the state of the ships at the time of their transfer to the representatives of Ukraine, as well as a video with the signing of the act of acceptance. The frames show that the ships were transferred in good condition.
According to Kamil Bekyashev, deputy chairman of the Maritime Law Association of the Russian Federation, Russia, having returned the ships to Ukraine, de facto complied with the court decision.
“With regard to property liability, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea should not deal with these issues. To determine property liability, a commission must be created that determines the amount of damage. There was no damage from the Russian authorities. Therefore, any decision of the tribunal will be illegal, ”he stressed in an interview with RT.
According to the lawyer, the vast majority of such cases end with the return of the courts and there are no prospects for further proceedings regarding the events in the Kerch Strait.
“I think there is no prospect. Ships returned. There is no subject for further discussion, ”says Bekyashev.
According to a RT source in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kiev itself does not particularly believe in the success of its cause.
“In fact, it will be quite difficult to get compensation from Russia for the captured ships. Lawyers have too few arguments for this. The main goal of this entire project is not to make money, but to create for Ukraine a new image of a strong country that is suing Russia. This is an additional reminder to our Western partners that it is too early to lift the sanctions against Russia, ”the source said.
A RT source in the Fatherland party emphasizes that Ukrainian diplomats are specifically escalating the situation.
“They create more opportunities for bargaining during a meeting in the Norman format and for further negotiations with Russia - they will ask for concessions for rejection of claims. I think this lawsuit has no prospects. And Russian lawyers and diplomats are well aware of this, ”RT said.
According to Topornin, to go to the world in a dispute in an international court over an incident in the Kerch Strait would be the best option for Russia and Ukraine.
However, the director of the Fund for Progressive Politics, political analyst Oleg Bondarenko ruled out such an option.
“There is no prospect for Russia and Ukraine to go global on the incident in the Kerch Strait, because Ukraine is and will for some time be in a state of certain anti-Russian hysteria,” he said in an interview with RT.
The trial of the incident in the Kerch Strait is not the only attempt by Ukraine to challenge Russia's actions in international legal instances. So, since 2016, the international arbitration created in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea deals with Ukraine’s claims to Russia related to the rights to exploit the resources of the Black and Azov Seas and shipping in the Kerch Strait.
- View of Gurzuf and Bear Mountain
- RIA News
- © Alexey Malgavko
Kiev claims that Moscow violates the rights to exploit resources in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas. The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, emphasizes that Ukraine did not appeal to an international court to resolve a dispute with Russia, but to legally recognize Crimea as Ukrainian. However, the issue of state ownership of land is beyond the competence of the tribunal for the law of the sea.
In 2018, this arbitration, contrary to the objections of Kiev, agreed with the arguments of Moscow and shared the issues of jurisdiction and claims of Kiev in essence. The parsing of Ukrainian claims until the issue of court jurisdiction was clarified was postponed.
In June, the Hague held regular hearings on this issue, where Russian representatives reiterated their claims.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry achieved more serious successes in the international court of the United Nations. On November 8, this court rejected all preliminary objections of the Russian side and recognized its jurisdiction in the proceedings between Ukraine and Russia. Kiev accuses Moscow of violating two international conventions. However, in this matter, the court did not even begin to consider the essence of the Ukrainian claims themselves.
According to Oleg Bondarenko, putting forward new lawsuits against Russia, Kiev pursues primarily domestic political goals.
“The Ukrainian leadership is doing this in order to maintain the necessary tone in the fight against Russian aggression in Ukrainian society. The image of the enemy created in Ukraine over the past six years is a condition for the stability of society. And no one will simply refuse it, ”the political scientist emphasized.
However, the RT source in the Golos party believes that the two countries will have to come to an agreement sooner or later.
“Ukraine and Russia have no other choice but to agree on key issues. The incident in the Kerch Strait is one of them. This is the only chance to avoid the stupid provocations during which people suffer. No matter how painful this question may seem to some Ukrainians, it’s time to negotiate. I hope that the country's leadership will not follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, ”RT said.