Ukraine has initiated arbitration proceedings against Russia in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in order to protect its rights as a coastal state in the maritime areas adjacent to the Crimea. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this in a statement.
"Since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s illegal aggression in the Crimea, Ukraine's rights in these areas have been violated and usurped by the aggressor state. Ukraine wants Russia stop violating the provisions of the convention, and (it is also demanding) protection of its rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait, including Ukraine’s rights to natural resources on the continental shelf of the Crimea, which belong to the Ukrainian people," the ministry said in the statement.
"Ukraine is asking the arbitration tribunal to confirm its rights as a coastal state and oblige the Russian Federation to cease its internationally illegal acts in the relevant sea waters, provide Ukraine the appropriate assurances and guarantees of no repetition, and compensate Ukraine for all the losses caused by the Russian Federation," the ministry said.
