By the end of 2023, the State Duma of the Russian Federation wants to adopt a bill to consolidate the status of the Sea of Azov as an inland body of water in Russia.
The bill has already been submitted to the State Duma and approved by the relevant committee. If it is adopted, the Sea of Azov will not be subject to international legislation, writes publication “Crimea. Realities”.
According to Russian MP Mikhail Sheremet, the bill could be adopted before the end of 2023. He noted that “historical justice has triumphed, and Ukraine has lost its status as a coastal state” with the loss of territories leading to the Sea of Azov.
Russian troops occupied the coastal areas of Zaporozhye, Kherson and Donetsk regions in the first days and months of the full-scale invasion. Warships of the Russian Navy were relocated to Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov, which provide security for the land corridor from Russia to annexed Crimea, the publication writes.
However, Moscow does not completely control the territory of any of the Ukrainian regions, the annexation of which it announced – Kherson, Zaporozhye, Lugansk and Donetsk. Significant parts of the Zaporozhye region (including the city of Zaporozhye) and the Donetsk region, as well as small sections of the Kherson and Luhansk regions remain under the control of Kyiv.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the denunciation of the interstate agreement with Ukraine on cooperation in the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. The agreement was concluded in 2003. The need to terminate the agreement arose due to the fact that Ukraine lost the status of a coastal state in relation to these waters, writes “Real time”.
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