On the last day of the winter session of the PACE (January 25), an outrageous incident in the Kerch Strait when Russian border guards seized 24 Ukrainian sailors and took 3 of our warships will turn two months. At the PACE session, which will begin today, European deputies should respond appropriately to the marine aggression of the Kremlin and pay enough attention to our captives, a trial on whom took place in Moscow. Ukraine should become the main topic these days in Strasbourg.
Debates on the agenda
The confidence that the Old World will not only be interested in our problems but also will join to their solving is added by the Ukrainian-initiated debate “Open Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: the breakdown of the peace process and the threat to European security”. The topic of the event is that the aggressive actions of the Kremlin are harmful not only to our country but also to Europe.
“The decision on urgent debates should be passed at the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly on Monday (January 21 – ed.), before the session starts”, said Volodymyr Ariev, people’s deputy, the head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of the PACE. “And if it is adopted, then, most likely, the debate will take place on a sessional Thursday, January 24”.
Ukraine is once again trying to shake Europe, draw its attention to the Kremlin’s abusive behavior. So what are the expectations of the PACE winter session? Volodymyr Ariev is laconic – we expect justice.
“The first expectation is that Russia does not violate the issue of returning its delegation to the PACE”, Olesia Yakhno, a political expert, told DUMKA. “At the last session, there was a great victory of the Ukrainian delegation, which did not allow to bring the edits through the committee, which interested Russia. The second expectation is the reaction to the events of the recent months, which is connected with the aggressive behavior of the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait, the capture of our sailors and ships. Obviously, there will be a question of condemnation of such behavior at the PACE level”.
The PACE must adopt a resolution on Russia’s marine aggression against Ukraine. Roman Bezsmertnyi, a politician, Vice Prime Minister (2005) is convinced, it doesn’t matter which questions are raised by the Parliamentary Assembly, Ukraine’s issue will be everywhere.
“The upcoming sessions of the PACE will be devoted to personal issues”, said Mr. Bezsmertnyi to DUMKA. “There are several candidates for the post of general secretary. And it happened that most of the organizational issues will be around Ukraine’s issue. If you take both the current leadership and the proposed candidates, the division between them takes place on a) assessment of the war between Ukraine and Russia; b) the future prospects of the participation of the Russian Federation in the work of the PACE; c) sanctions against the RF. The election of new leadership is a matter for the PACE’s fate. Will it be able to continue its work as one of the main European organizations. If the pro-Ukrainian position wins, PACE has a chance to strengthen its status in Europe. If the forces that are in contact with Russia win, the further disintegration of the Parliamentary Assembly will continue. In PACE there is a serious value conflict that breaks the organization from the inside, the fight is between European values and the temptation of Russian money”.
A few days before the session, Volodymyr Ariev wrote on his Facebook page that Russia will not represent a delegation to the PACE for the fourth year in a row, “A country that does not respect the principles of the Council of Europe failed to break this organization and force it to give way through the blackmail”. In the Kremlin, they assure that they do not really need PACE. According to the head of the State Duma of the RF Vyacheslav Volodin, the organization carries little credibility of Russia. But who knows what is in the Russians’ mind?
Brave sailors
Obviously, European high-ranking officials should not only condemn the Kremlin aggression but also intervene on behalf of Ukrainian sailors. All 24 prisoners demanded that Russians recognize them as prisoners of war, but Moscow did not agree. Meanwhile, the fight for our boys’ returning is continuing. The Ukrainian government has handed in an application to the European Court of Human Rights against the RF because of the seamen, seized by the border guards of the aggressor country. And the UN Human Rights Committee filed a petition in violation of certain articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
On January 15-16, a trial in a closed-session on Ukrainian sailors took place in Moscow. The arrest of all prisoners has been extended for more than three months. According to the Authorized Representative for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada Lyudmyla Denisova, the sailors behaved like heroes. They acted as prisoners of war, refused to testify. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed a protest by court decision and called on the international community to condemn the actions of the Russian Federation and “consolidate the pressure on Moscow”. So, will the PACE discuss the issue of the seamen seizure by the Kremlin?
“Even if this issue will not be raised by the Parliamentary Assembly, it must be initiated by the Ukrainian side”, Roman Bezsmertnyi says. “I would raise the question of introducing a PACE monitoring group on the situation in the Kerch Strait. This group could sum up the situation with seized sailors and their legal proceedings. On the basis of monitoring, a report on the observance of human rights is prepared. It is strange for me that PACE has not introduced such monitoring since the beginning of the war, especially in the situation with the Crimea”.
Yurii Hrymchak, a deputy minister for temporary occupied territories and internally displaced persons hopes that we will still hear from PACE the demand to the Kremlin on the release of our seamen. And according to Ukrainian Vice Admiral and a former commander of the Ukrainian Navy Serhiy Hayduk, the foreign policy and internal factors will affect the release.
“Among them, there are the results of the election of the President of Ukraine”, Mr. Hayduk explained to DUMKA. “Will this affect the dialogue between the RF and Ukraine on the release of prisoners? Obviously, yes. A version of the “exchange fund” or, unfortunately, a subject of the auction is possible. I went through this when I was seized. We cannot hope for the fair play of the Russian court, therefore the role of Russian lawyers in this situation is purely procedural. The final decision is taken by Putin”.
The Kerch Strait is not the needle’s eye
The release of the seamen from Moscow’s captivity is a matter of honor of the Ukrainian State. The issue of free use of the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, where Russia is boldly ruling, is no less important. On December 19, NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov initiated the passage of Ukrainian warships along the Kerch Strait together with international partners. The Russians called this statement a provocation.
“Turchynov announced the intention, but not its perspective and time of implementation”, said Serhiy Hayduk. “The statement became the reason for the informational discourse in the media environment of both Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Political “shooting” continues, but are the Ukrainian Naval Forces and our international partners ready for this? The practical implementation of such statements has to be discussed at the international level, both in terms of expediency and effectiveness, taking into account the systematic neglect of the International Maritime Law by the RF”.
Recently the Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak stressed that, according to international treaties, Ukraine will not waive the right to pass through the Kerch Strait. The idea to go through the strait using military vehicles is also approved by the experts.
“I think Ukraine will make such a passage”, Olesia Yakhno is convinced. “It has really drowned attention to this issue since last April when the Russian Federation began to block the passage of our ships that were moving into the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol. Ukraine said that Russia wants to push it out of the Azov Sea and monopolize the right to use the Kerch Strait. And then there was an act of aggressive behavior. If Ukraine does not react, Russia will use it. Therefore, on the one hand, we are spending our efforts on the liberation of our seamen and the return of our ships, and on the other hand, we must not allow the RF to monopolize the right to the Kerch Strait”.
Roman Bezsmertnyi looks at the following sentence in another way, “Ukraine must necessarily interact with NATO countries, the fleets of Britain, France, Poland, and other countries. But by the time of the creation of a combat-capable Ukrainian group in the Azov Sea, I would refrain from such things as an attempt to go through the Kerch Strait. It can lead at least to the loss of combat units, and even worse – to human losses”.
An agreement should not be broken?
What is happening now in the Kerch Strait? According to Yurii Hrymchak, Russians didn’t pay attention to commercial vessels recently.
“In fact, the blockade is stopped”, Mr. Hrymchak assured DUMKA. “The ships that went to Berdyansk and Mariupol were not stopped during December. There were some cases but of short duration. It affects not only our interests but also many other countries. It is the issue of commercial ships, and we have not yet tried to go through using warships there. As far as we know, this passage is being prepared, options are being discussed”.
Indeed, Serhiy Hayduk assured, that in the first two weeks of this year and in the last two months of the previous one, there were no detentions in the sea and no inspections of civilian vessels moving to and from the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk from the ships and boats of the maritime security of the FSB of the Russian Federation. The average waiting time for the passage of the Kerch Strait towards the Azov Sea is 35 hours per vessel, taking into account the stormy weather and about 15 hours in good weather. And the permission to pass through the strait in the opposite direction from Azov to the Black Sea takes 28 and about 9 hours per vessel, respectively.
“Obviously, the “temporary” stabilization of the situation was influenced by political factors – resolutions of the European Parliament and the UN General Assembly on the incident on November 25 of the last year, discussion of imposing sanctions against the Russian ports of the Azov and Black Seas, statements by the US State Department and leading European leaders”, continued Mr. Hayduk. “As well as regional meteorological factors – autumn-winter storms, frosts and a traditional decrease of marine activity in this period. At the same time, there is a tendency to use UAV over the Russian sea area for the purpose of exploration and monitoring of the surface environment”.
What to do with the Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on joint use of the Azov Sea since 2003? Perhaps, it is necessary to break this spoilt agreement with the Kremlin.
“Will this contribute to the consideration of Ukraine’s legal claims at international institutions regarding the unlawful actions of the RF and its violation of international maritime law? Will this contribute to the delimitation and demarcation of the state maritime border on the Azov Sea considering the occupied Crimea, which Russia recognizes as its own?”, ex-commander of the navy wonders. “There is a need for an understanding of the sequence of steps taken by Ukraine and international institutions (the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization) in determining the legal status of the Azov Sea. In order not to “fall across” the situation – the RF is a successor to the former USSR and the Sea of Azov is the internal sea of the USSR. At the same time, there are some risks as the Sea of Azov is a water area adjacent to the seafront of the United Forces Operation”.
Roman Bezsmertnyi sees the future in the formation of combat-capable navy and navy of the Azov Sea. However, the politician admits – this is a somewhat distant prospect: “The current situation can be divided into several stages. The first one is the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the second one is the International Court for the Law of the Sea. It is necessary to initiate a trial on the situation in the Kerch Strait as soon as possible. In accordance with international maritime law, the Strait should be open. The example is Bosporus and Dardanelles. Despite the fact that these straits are controlled by Turkey, they are open for passage not only by trade but also military vessels. Therefore, everything that Russia does is a violation of international maritime law. The court decisions are needed”.
Viktor Tsvilikhovskyi
