Putin ratifies Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty on the use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait

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June 13 () –

Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified this Tuesday with his signature the exit from the Cooperation Treaty with Ukraine on the use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait, which had been in force since December 2003.

Putin thus culminates a process that began on May 24 when he presented to the Council, the Upper House of Parliament, a bill to put an end to this agreement, which governed the joint policies of Moscow and Kiev in maritime affairs, including laws on navigation, environmental security and exploitation of resources.

The document received the approval of the deputies of the State Duma on June 1 and passed into the hands of the Senate, which approved the measure a week ago on the grounds that the Azov Sea became “an inland sea of ​​Russia.” .

For Moscow, the treaty lost its validity given that “after the accession to Russia of Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, Ukraine has lost the status of a state bordering the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait,” the Senate said in a statement. .