27 Feb 2023 12:02

Ukraine quits BlackSeaFor agreement

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The Verkhovna Rada passed a bill on Ukraine's withdrawal from the agreement to create the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BlackSeaFor), the Ukrainian media reported last Friday, citing a social media post of Rada member Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

The agreement was signed by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine in Istanbul on April 2, 2001, and ratified by Ukraine (with a reservation) on June 5, 2003.

Among the BlackSeaFor's stated objectives is to assist security and stability in the Black Sea and beyond, strengthen friendship and good neighborly relations among the regional states and increase interaction among their navies.

In addition, the Ukrainian media reported, quoting the same parliamentarian, that the parliament denounced Ukraine's treaty with Russia on cooperation in the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. The agreement was signed in Kerch on December 24, 2003, and ratified in April 2004.