Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Calls Decision Of Sea Law Tribunal 'Real Victory'

HAMBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2019) The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on Saturday the decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the Kerch Strait incident a "real victory."

Earlier in the day, the ITLOS demanded Russia to release Ukrainian warships seized in the Kerch Strait for violating the Russian border last year. However, the tribunal noted that it did not demand to cancel criminal prosecution of 24 detained sailors. The Russian side previously informed the ITLOS that it would not take part in the hearings, since this tribunal did not have jurisdiction to consider Ukraine's claims.

"This is a real victory. This is what we appealed to the tribunal for, and the tribunal made a clear and precise decision to immediately release the ships and the sailors," Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal told reporters exiting the courtroom.

The tribunal also ordered Russia and Ukraine to submit reports on the situation in the Kerch Strait by June 25, she added.

"Russia, as well as we, will have to submit a report to the tribunal within a month about how they implement the decision of the tribunal.

This is the most important thing: how they behave, what they will do," Zerkal said.

On November 25, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats, and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. Russia seized the Ukrainian vessels and detained crew members after they failed to respond to a demand to stop. After the incident, a criminal case on illegal border crossing was opened in Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly slammed Kiev's attempts to portray the detained sailors as prisoners of war, stressing that they faced criminal charges. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the incident was a provocation prepared in advance as a pretext to declare martial law in Ukraine, which was announced after the incident and lasted for a month. Putin said the provocation might have been linked to former Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko's low approval ratings before the presidential election, which his rival Volodymyr Zelensky ultimately won.