Ukraine urges court to order Russia to dismantle Crimea bridge

THE HAGUE - Ukraine on Oct 3 urged the world’s oldest arbitration court to order Russia to dismantle its bridge built to connect Ukraine’s occupied Crimea peninsula to the Russian mainland.

The two bitter enemies clashed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in panelled rooms in The Hague, far removed from the battlefields of eastern Ukraine.

For two weeks, lawyers for the rival powers have battled over access to coastal waters around Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, which Russia claimed in 2014 to have annexed.

“The tribunal must order Russia to dismantle and remove the so-called Kerch Bridge,” said Ms Oksana Zolotaryova, director of international law at the foreign ministry, summing up Kyiv’s case.

“Dismantling the bridge is the only way to restore passage for the vessels of all countries who used the (Kerch) Strait in the past and the vessels that are anticipated to use the strait in the future,” she added.

Part of Ukraine’s case is that Russia built the bridge so low that international shipping cannot pass through the strategically vital strait, impeding trade.

“It is Russia that unlawfully built this bridge and now it needs to remove it to enable passage through the Kerch Strait consistent with international law,” said Ms Zolotaryova.

Kyiv has launched multiple attacks and attempted attacks on the Kerch Bridge since Moscow began its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

The PCA case dates all the way back to September 2016, when Kyiv dragged Moscow to the court to “vindicate its rights as the coastal state”.

Set up in 1899, the PCA is the world’s oldest arbitral tribunal.

It resolves disputes between countries and private parties over contracts, special agreements and various treaties, such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In Russia’s opening arguments on Sept 23, Moscow representative Gennady Kuzmin dismissed Kyiv’s case as “completely groundless and hopeless”.

After the annexation of Crimea, the seas in dispute were internal waters and therefore fell outside the scope of international shipping laws, said Mr Kuzmin.

He said the Kerch Bridge was built to relieve what he termed a Ukrainian “blockage” of Crimea and denied it inhibited shipping.

“All of Ukraine’s claims are baseless, fall outside of the scope of your jurisdiction, and should be dismissed in their entirety,” said Mr Kuzmin.

Russia will present closing arguments on Oct 5.

The court often takes months if not years to reach a decision. AFP