Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet

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Partition Treaty on the Black Sea Fleet
Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet
SignedMay 28, 1997;25 years ago (1997-05-28)
EffectiveJuly 12, 1999;23 years ago (1999-07-12)
Expiration28 March 2014
Signatories
Languages Russian, Ukrainian [1]
Full text
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The Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet consists of three bilateral agreements [2] between Russia and Ukraine signed on 28 May 1997 whereby the two countries established two independent national fleets, divided armaments and bases between them, [3] [4] and set forth conditions for basing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. The treaty was supplemented by provisions in the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty, which was signed three days later. Russia unilaterally terminated the Partition Treaty in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.

Contents

Background

During the 1990s, the dispute over control of the Black Sea Fleet and Crimean naval facilities were source of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On 10 June 1995, an interim agreement was signed, [5] however, two additional years were needed to resolve remaining issues.

Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov campaigned to claim the city of Sevastopol which housed the fleet, and in December 1996 the Russian Federation Council officially endorsed the claim. [6] Spurred by these territorial claims, Ukraine proposed a "special partnership" with NATO in January 1997. [6]

Content

Under the terms of the agreements:

A fourth agreement, the Kharkiv Pact, was signed on 21 April 2010 and extended the lease until 2042 (with possibility of renewal for an additional five years) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas. [9]

On 28 March 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted proposals to the State Duma on terminating a number of RussiaUkraine agreements, including the Black Sea Fleet partition treaty and the Kharkiv Pact. [10] The State Duma approved the abrogation of these Russian-Ukrainian agreements unanimously by 433 members of parliament on 31 March 2014. [11]

Full names of the treaties

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References

  1. Russian: Соглашение между Российской Федерацией и Украиной о статусе и условиях пребывания Черноморского флота Российской Федерации на территории Украины; Ukrainian: Угода між Україною і Російською Федерацією про статус та умови перебування Чорноморського флоту Російської Федерації на території України
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bound by treaty: Russia, Ukraine and Crimea
  3. "UK's response to the situation in Ukraine - Oral statements to Parliament". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  4. Subtelny, Orest (2000). Ukraine: A History . University of Toronto Press. p.  600. ISBN   0-8020-8390-0.
  5. Russia and Ukraine Settle Dispute Over Black Sea Fleet, June 10, 1995
  6. 1 2 Glenn E., Curtis (1998). Russia: A Country Study. Washington DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. xcii. ISBN   0-8444-0866-2. OCLC   36351361.
  7. Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, p. 431 ISBN   9780199699698
  8. Угода між Україною і Російською Федерацією про статус та умови перебування Чорноморського флоту Російської Федерації на території України
  9. The Great Power (mis)Management by Alexander Astrov, Ashgate Publishing, 2011, ISBN   1409424677 (page 82)
  10. "Putin submits proposals on denouncing some Russia-Ukraine agreements on Black Sea Fleet". ITAR-TASS . 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014.
  11. "State Duma approves denunciation of Russian-Ukrainian agreements on Black Sea Fleet". ITAR-TASS . 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014.