TOWARD A NEW WAR

BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE?

The Sea of ​​Azov, bordered by both Ukraine and Russia and closed by the Kerch Strait, has been the scene of intense tensions for five days between Ukraine and Russia. Sunday, November 25 Russia opened fire and intercepted three Ukrainian ships, taking their crews near the Crimean peninsula.

For Moscow, these ships illegally entered Russian waters, which Kiev denies invoking a 2003 Russian-Ukrainian treaty on navigation in the region.

Two Ukrainian ports on the Sea of ​​Azov, Berdiansk and Mariupol, are under Russian blockade, ships can not get out or enter, said Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Volodimir Omelian, four days after the naval incident on Sunday in the Kerch Strait.

It is forbidden for no less than thirty-five vessels to operate according to their wishes. Only boats bound for Russian ports in the Azov Sea are allowed to cross the Kerch Strait, according to the minister on Facebook.

"The goal is simple - by blockading the Ukrainian ports of the Sea of ​​Azov, Russia hopes that Ukrainians will leave their own territory - a territory that is ours under all relevant international law," she said. -he says.

The Kerch Strait linking the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea is currently under Russia's control. In May this year, an 18-km-long bridge connecting its territory to the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in March 2014, was inaugurated. by Moscow.

There is therefore an escalation of tension between the two countries. Martial law was introduced for 30 days by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who, fearing a ground invasion, asked NATO, including Germany, to send ships to the Azov Sea to support Kiev in his arm wrestling with Moscow. Moscow, for its part, accuses its neighbor of putting oil on the fire.

Europeans, reluctant to intervene, are trying to relieve the pressure. Angela Merkel urged on Thursday Ukrainians to remain "wise" and "reasonable" and swept any military confrontation. "There can be no military solution to these confrontations," insisted the German Chancellor.

"France and Germany are ready to work towards a solution in the Normandy format with Russia and Ukraine, even though the results have so far been very, very modest," added the German Chancellor.

Nor is there any question of strengthening economic sanctions against Russia. Finally, NATO reporting that the presence of its ships in the Black Sea has been consistent this year, namely 120 days in the Black Sea against 80 last year, does not envisage any other action for the moment.

At the G20, which opened this Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the subject was to be addressed even if no official meeting between Putin and Donald Trump is scheduled, the latter having canceled it for reasons of domestic politics.

The crisis in Ukraine is a test of European solidarity.


Garett Skyport for DayNewsWorld