In May 2018 the chief consultant of the Department of the Legal Analysis of the Mission Ruslan Seidametov took part interagency meeting held by the State Fishery Agency of Ukraine. The meeting was aimed to discuss the challenging situation and developing the ways of restoration the security access of Ukrainian fishers to the fishing areas of the Azov Sea.

During the inter-agency meeting the Mission’s position was presented on the necessity to terminate urgently the Agreement between State Committee of Fisheries and Fishing Industry of the Ukraine and Federal Fisheries Committee of the Russian Federation Regarding Fisheries of 1993 and denunciation of bilateral Russian-Ukrainian Agreement on Cooperation in Usage of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait. Unfortunately the representatives of some executives bodies categorically rejected the duty of those agreements termination.

The authorized representative of the Mission stressed on the urgent need to adopt the Law of Ukraine “On the Inland Waters, Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone”. dditionally it was pointed to the need of the appropriate assessment to be done of the actions of the Russian diplomats on the case of the team members of the Ukrainian fishery vessel “Nord” and the attention was drawn to the available information of funding the advocates by the representatives of the Russian authorities in Crimea.  It was explained  that in the activities of some individuals of this case that might be the evidence of poaching and usage inherently non-valid documents. It was proposed to implement the immediate procedural evaluation of the relevant facts.

One more time the attention was paid to the need of strengthening of the practical capability of the Ukrainian Sea Guard Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Sea of Azov. Participants highlighted the duty to counteract the illegal excavations of bioresources in the areas of the Azov-Syvash National Park, including the water of Syvash, where the administrative boundary line with Crimea, as such excavations are not only the destruction of the Natural reserve, but it concerned the issues of security and risks under the evident coordination by the appropriate structures of the aggressor State.