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EU Sanctions 6 Russian Firms Over Crimea Bridge

Rogue Valley

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EU Sanctions 6 Russian Firms Over Crimea Bridge

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Russia's new and illegal Crimea Bridge

The Moscow Times
7/31/18

The European Union has levied sanctions on six Russian companies involved in the construction of a bridge connecting mainland Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula. The $3.6 billion bridge, built by a contractor owned by President Vladimir Putin’s childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg, was unveiled in May in a move to integrate the peninsula into Russia. Rotenberg was among the first Russian businessmen to be put under Western visa bans and asset freezes after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from neighboring Ukraine in 2014. The European Council said it has frozen the assets of six entities involved in the Crimean bridge’s construction, including two companies owned by Rotenberg — Mostotrest and Stroygazmontazh. “Through their actions they supported the consolidation of Russia's control over the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula, which in turn further undermines the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the European Council said Tuesday.

Other companies to be hit by the latest EU sanctions include a Stroygazmontazh subsidiary, a St. Petersburg-based construction firm, a shipyard involved in railway construction and a contractor that built a highway over the bridge. Speaking in Crimea on Monday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the annexed peninsula had completed the “unprecedented” task of being integrated into Russia’s legal, infrastructural and economic space. “You can say that the most difficult stage has passed. We’ve entered into a more relaxed and planned mode of operation,” he said at a cabinet session in Sevastopol.

This illegal bridge was constructed on Ukrainian land without permission. My contacts in Crimea say there are already quality-control issues and the bridge is falling apart in places. This occurs because funding to pay for construction of the bridge is skimmed off by Putin friend and judo partner Arkady Rotenberg. This is why Rotenberg was awarded this contract ... corruption rubles for a friend from the Putin regime.



While we're here.....

Ukraine Complains Russia Is Using New Crimea Bridge to Disrupt Shipping

Dutch freighter detained and harassed by Russia. What’s going on in Azov sea?

Russian Coast Guards detain seven ships off Ukraine coast in Sea of Azov


See the image below. The illegal Crimea Bridge is constructed at Kerch, Ukraine and connects to Russia. Moscow is using the bridge to interfere with maritime shipping ... cargo ships that pick-up/deliver cargo to the Ukraine port cities of Berdyansk and Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Russia is imposing a 24 hour delay at the bridge, and then Russian military patrol boats are harassing (stopping/boarding/searching) cargo ships traveling to or leaving from Ukrainian ports. This is a violation of international Maritime Law.

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Here we go again...
 
The status of the Sea of Azov is very complex under international law - it already had a special status due to its formerly being part of the Soviet Union.

Frankly, given this complexity and the issues with court jurisdiction, it seems very unlikely that a legal solution will ever be reached.

I would appeal to both parties to negotiate and arrive at a diplomatic solution, although Ukraine has lodged a case with the Arbitration Tribunal under UNCLOS.
 
Here we go again...

Yes. Not content with stealing Crimea, Moscow also wants to claim exclusive maritime rights to the Sea of Azov. In effect .... stealing a navigable sea.

Can you imagine how loudly Moscow would scream if Turkey messed with Russian ships seeking to enter/exit the Black Sea via the Bosporus Straight? No more timely Syria resupply.

Moscow is doing exactly that to Ukraine via the Crimea Bridge.

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Dutch general cargo ship ZUIDVLIET. Detained by Russian patrol craft off the coast of the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine.
 
The status of the Sea of Azov is very complex under international law - it already had a special status due to its formerly being part of the Soviet Union.

Frankly, given this complexity and the issues with court jurisdiction, it seems very unlikely that a legal solution will ever be reached.

I would appeal to both parties to negotiate and arrive at a diplomatic solution, although Ukraine has lodged a case with the Arbitration Tribunal under UNCLOS.

No special status. The Azov Sea has always been a navigable body open to all international shipping. Any and all border issues at the dissolution of the USSR were settled many rears ago...

• Belavezha Accords (Creation Agreement) (1991)

• Alma-Ata Protocol (1991)

• Joint Russo-Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet Agreement (1992)

• The Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet (1997)

• Russian-Ukrainian Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership (1997) (Article 2 - Reaffirmed “the inviolability of the existing borders”)

• Russia and Ukraine Agreement on State Borders (2003)
 
No special status. The Azov Sea has always been a navigable body open to all international shipping. Any and all border issues at the dissolution of the USSR were settled many rears ago...


That simply isn't true.

The Tuzla Island dispute post dates all of that, and epitomises the unclear status of the Azov.


What we do know is that UNCLOS does not seem to apply there because of its status as an 'inland sea'.
 
That simply isn't true.

It is true .... everywhere in the world except apparently Moscow.

But I digress....

Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Ukraine on cooperation in the use of the sea of Azov and the strait of Kerch.

United Nations Law of the Sea. Bulletin 54, 2004. See Page 131

Maritime Law Synopsis: The original bay regime (USSR) dissolved with Ukraine’s independence (1991) or thereafter and the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov largely are part of the territorial sea of Ukraine and Russia. In addition, a patch of high seas (or potentially EEZs) exists in the central Sea of Azov. Both nations have rights to ingress, egress, and probably Exclusive Economic Zone's (EEZ's) extending from their respective borders. Occupied Crimea does not alter the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov maritime dynamic, but does affect Ukraine's EEZ rights.
 
I'm not sure if the Russians are copying the Chinese or the Chinese are copying the Russians because both are stealing territory and harassing other countries going about their business. Clearly, the days of looking in the other direction and pretending it's not happening are over, actions have conseqeunces.

Come to think about it Russia and China also share fake economic data...corruption, cyberhacking, Information and IP theft...could it be the roots of communism have grown into something new, elitism at the top and poverty down the bottom...sounds like a monarchy/dynasty actually, that's what I call ful circle :lol:
 
DjSTyRPWwAwKJgh.jpg


Russian blogger taking a selfie to show how empty the illegal Crimea Bridge is.
 
From the article Rogue linked:

Poliakov said that, while Russia's actions are "provocative," because of a controversial 2003 agreement on cooperation and shared use of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait, "everything Russia is doing here is technically legal."

Signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's then-President Leonid Kuchma in 2003, the agreement makes the Sea of Azov jointly controlled territory, allowing both countries to use it freely.

"Ukraine and the Russian Federation, two historically brotherly nations, define the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait as economically important for both countries," the agreement reads.
 
DjSTyRPWwAwKJgh.jpg


Russian blogger taking a selfie to show how empty the illegal Crimea Bridge is.

Why is that... because it's mostly military restricted? Crimeans not free to travel into Russia? Russians couldn't be bothered?
 
Why is that... because it's mostly military restricted? Crimeans not free to travel into Russia? Russians couldn't be bothered?

There is actually not much there anymore for the average Russian. The Kremlin has turned the peninsula into a military fortress. Agriculture is dying (Moscow didn't plan on how to supply potable water to the peninsula) and most of the tourist industry ... hotels, motels, spa's, tanning salon's, water parks, restaurants, mountaineering guides, tour companies, etc. have gone out of business. I lived in a coastal resort town (25,000) near Yalta that was ~90% dependent on foreign tourism. The few Russian vacationers that visit today certainly can't replace what was spent by ~3 million visiting Westerners that liked to party 24/7 during the summer fun season.
 
A criminal investigation has been launched a few months back against 7 Dutch companies for services they delivered to the building of that bridge. Something that was illegal according to Dutch and international law. The investigation is still underway so I will report back if something comes from that criminal investigation. Because it is not just Russian companies who have dirt on their hands.
 
.................and doublethink prevails, with we-all-know-who citing a passage (just that one) from the Radio Liberty article and conveniently ignoring all the rest of it, effectively pretending there's no cause for concern on the silly premise that everything the government he supports does here is "technically legal".

What a farce.
 
The article makes clear that Russia has not done anything illegal in the Sea of Azov.

So now, on this particular occasion in relation to the Azov, we're asked to dis-regard the legality and focus on how morally reprehensible it all is to check shipping. Whereas, with Crimea, we're only concerned with the legality and not with context, history, ethnicity and referendums :shock:.

It's clear to me that the stance of states like the US, China and Russia is simple - international law must be obeyed unless we don't feel like it.

It's not me guilty of doublethink.
 
the relaxing thing with double think is that the so afflicted are also totally unaware of it.

At least until the conflict becomes too apparent to be denied any longer, but that can take forever.

Meanwhile upholding their house of cards by resorting to the usual whataboutism.
 
the relaxing thing with double think is that the so afflicted are also totally unaware of it.

At least until the conflict becomes too apparent to be denied any longer, but that can take forever.

Meanwhile upholding their house of cards by resorting to the usual whataboutism.


:lamo:lamo

Oh .... the irony :)
 
From another thread:
With nothing other than the same old, same old coming forth from the same source(s) of prevarication, not much point in dwelling in this thread until something comes up that's actually new.
:lol:
 
There is actually not much there anymore for the average Russian. The Kremlin has turned the peninsula into a military fortress. Agriculture is dying (Moscow didn't plan on how to supply potable water to the peninsula) and most of the tourist industry ... hotels, motels, spa's, tanning salon's, water parks, restaurants, mountaineering guides, tour companies, etc. have gone out of business. I lived in a coastal resort town (25,000) near Yalta that was ~90% dependent on foreign tourism. The few Russian vacationers that visit today certainly can't replace what was spent by ~3 million visiting Westerners that liked to party 24/7 during the summer fun season.

Thank you Rogue, it is interesting but rather sad :(
 
There is actually not much there anymore for the average Russian. The Kremlin has turned the peninsula into a military fortress. Agriculture is dying (Moscow didn't plan on how to supply potable water to the peninsula) and most of the tourist industry ... hotels, motels, spa's, tanning salon's, water parks, restaurants, mountaineering guides, tour companies, etc. have gone out of business. I lived in a coastal resort town (25,000) near Yalta that was ~90% dependent on foreign tourism. The few Russian vacationers that visit today certainly can't replace what was spent by ~3 million visiting Westerners that liked to party 24/7 during the summer fun season.

Very sad. I hope both sides can come to an amicable peace in the future. Eastern Europe is one of my goals to visit.
 
Rogue's depiction of Crimea is an over-stated exaggeration which omits two significant facts.

1. Tourism from outside Russia has of course drastically declined. Why? Because western airlines are not permitted by their governments to fly to Crimea, and because Ukraine does not make it easy for Ukrainians to access Crimea from the Ukrainian side of the border.

2. Why is there a water problem? Because Ukraine has cut off water supplies. Yes, that candidate for NATO and EU membership, displaying the virtues of 'civilisation' which Europe prides itself on, has used water supply as a political and economic tool.


Of course Crimea will adjust and eventually thrive again. But let's be clear about who is trying its hardest to make Crimea poor.
 
So cordoning off a territory that has been stolen and denying its occupiers water supply surprises some?

Makes one wonder to what levels prevarications are going to rise next.:roll:
 
Rogue's depiction of Crimea is an over-stated exaggeration which omits two significant facts.

1. Tourism from outside Russia has of course drastically declined. Why? Because western airlines are not permitted by their governments to fly to Crimea, and because Ukraine does not make it easy for Ukrainians to access Crimea from the Ukrainian side of the border.

Travel to occupied Crimea is restricted under the financial sanctions and travel restrictions imposed by numerous world governments. Crimea is an illegally occupied territory of Ukraine.

2. Why is there a water problem? Because Ukraine has cut off water supplies. Yes, that candidate for NATO and EU membership, displaying the virtues of 'civilisation' which Europe prides itself on, has used water supply as a political and economic tool.

Moscow refused to pay Ukraine for Crimea water and electricity. Surely no one expects Ukraine to freely supply such commodities to an occupation regime.

The Ukraine government is steadily ending all ties to Moscow. Last week the Kyiv/Moscow train line ended, and Westinghouse began supplying nuclear reactors in Ukraine. Every week another step away.

Of course Crimea will adjust and eventually thrive again. But let's be clear about who is trying its hardest to make Crimea poor.

Under the Russian yoke, Crimea will never again experience its Ukrainian heyday. Neither will the persecuted Crimean Tatars.....

Crimea: Persecution of Crimean Tatars Intensifies

In Occupied Crimea, New Echoes of a Dark Past

Russia Violates Civil Rights Of Crimean Tatars In Occupied Crimea
 
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