Russian State Duma mulls denouncing Russia-Ukraine border treaty

Member of the Russian State Duma Yevgeny Fedorov has suggested denouncing the Treaty on the Russia-Ukraine Border. In his petition addressed to the State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin, Fedorov  says the treaty dating back to April 22, 2004 names the Crimean Peninsula as part of Ukraine.  

To avoid any conflict of law, the parliamentarian suggests the State Duma speaker to launch the process of denunciation of the disputable treaty, Izvestia newspaper writes. “The decision on accession of Crimea has already been adopted and implemented. Now, we need to bring the international agreements in line with the decisions adopted at the constitutional level. It is necessary to bring all documents in line with the basic law. The treaty on the Russian-Ukrainian border can no longer exist as it is today. It must be denounced,” Fedorov said.

Article 2 of the Treaty - President Vladimir Putin signed it on January 28, 2003 on sidelines of the Russian Year in Ukraine – defines the Crimean Peninsula as the territory of Ukraine.

The newspaper recalls that the Russian-Ukrainian Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership inked on May 31 1997 and ratified on Mar 2 1999 also determines Crimea as the territory of Ukraine. Under the agreement, the signatories pledged to respect the territorial integrity of each other and confirmed the inviolability of borders.