NATO condemns Kerch bridge construction
The People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Iryna Friz, who heads Ukrainian delegation during the 64th session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Canada, announced on Facebook that the Committee on the Civilian Dimension of Security (CDS) of NATO unanimously condemned the construction of the Kerch Bridge.
According to Friz, the resolution, which was introduced by the Ukrainian delegation to be added to the Lord Joplin’s report “Counteraction to Russian Hybrid Threats”, included a new paragraph condemning the construction of the Kerch bridge,
“Condemning the illegal construction of the Kerch bridge by Russia, as well as Russia's policy regarding the selective denial of access and unreasonable delay of Ukrainian and international vessels in the Sea of Azov, we are greatly concerned about the new threats to security, economics and the environment in the region,” quoted the resolution Iryna Friz.
MP noted that the NATO Committee approved this document unanimously.
At the time of publication, there was no reaction from the Russian representatives regarding the NATO committee’s condemnation.
On November 8, the Verkhovna Rada supported the first reading of the draft law on the adjacent zone of Ukraine. According to the author of the document, MP Iryna Friz, the bill allows setting the adjacent zone of Ukraine at a 24 nautical miles distance on the Black Sea.
In October 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavel Klimkin, at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, discussed Ukraine’s and NATO interaction in the Azov-Black Sea region.
On October 25, the European Parliament condemned Russia's actions in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, including the construction of the Kerch Bridge, and called for strengthened sanctions against Russia.