Signed in Kerch on December 24, 2003, the Russian-Ukrainian Treaty on the Joint Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait created a basis for further elaboration of mutually acceptable documents on all aspects of the legal status of the Azov-Kerch marine area and joint Russian-Ukrainian activities there.
The treaty precisely fixed points of principle importance for Russia—securing the historical status of the Azov-Kerch area as inland waters of the two countries, prohibition of third countries’ war vessel entry to the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait without the agreement of both countries, recognition of the necessity of preserving the Azov-Kerch area as an integral economic and natural complex used in Russian and Ukrainian interests, and freedom of navigation for the Russian and Ukrainian merchant marine and navies in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait.
The treaty also fixed a premise on the settlement of all issues pertaining to the marine area on the basis of agreement between the parties, which limited Ukraine’s opportunities for unilateral moves in frontier delineation and other matters.