Senators Condemn Russian Detention Of Ukrainian Ships

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the upper house of parliament, the Senate, has condemned Russia’s detention of Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.

 

Members of the committee recalled the right of vessels to access the Sea of Azov, to where they were headed on Sunday.

 

Russia claims the Ukrainian vessels had crossed into its waters, but that is based on its illegal claim to Crimea, which it seized in 2014.

 

Under a treaty ratified by Ukraine and Russia in 2004 that is still in force, the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait were defined as shared territorial waters.

 

On Monday, members of the lower house’s Foreign Affairs Committee advocated tougher sanctions against Russia, while the Czech foreign minister has spoken of forcing a reduction in the relatively high number of diplomats at Russia’s Embassy in Prague.