Ukraine and Romania resolved a long-standing dispute regarding the construction of the deep-water Danube-Black Sea canal by the Ukrainian side, the Minister of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strelets said.

In a message published on Facebook on Saturday, the minister recalled that the dispute concerned Ukraine’s obligations under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espo Convention), writes News.ro. The dispute was finally resolved on the sidelines of the 9th meeting of the parties to the Espoo Convention in Geneva.

“We want and can find a common language and correct the mistakes of the past”

• “We did our homework and went a long way to bring the project into compliance with the requirements of the Convention.
• After all, Ukraine cares about good neighborly relations and respect for international law. We want and can find a common language and correct the mistakes of the past,” the Ukrainian minister wrote on Facebook.

The dispute between Romania and Ukraine over the Danube-Black Sea Canal, which passes through the mouths of Kilia and Starostanbul (Bastroe) in the Danube Delta, has been ongoing since 2004, when Ukraine experimentally launched the canal.

The European Commission and Romania opposed the project, citing the protected status of the Danube Delta and the lack of an environmental impact assessment. To resolve the dispute, in January 2005, in accordance with the Espoo Convention, a commission of inquiry was established to form a scientifically based opinion on the possible consequences of transboundary impacts during the construction and use of the Danube-Black Sea Canal.

“The 20-year dispute with Romania has ended”

• “Ukraine has undertaken European integration obligations under the Espoo Convention. On the sidelines of the 9th meeting of the parties to the Espoo Convention, a 20-year dispute with Romania over the fulfillment of its demands regarding the construction of the Danube-Black Sea canal ended,” Minister Ruslan Strelets said.

He thanked his Romanian colleague Mircea Feshet “for supporting this historic decision” and Iordansa Yordanov, Minister of the Environment from the Republic of Moldova, for “the professionalism and diplomacy with which he chaired the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention.” .

At the beginning of this year, Romania appealed to Ukraine with a request for clarification regarding the dredging works in the Chili Canal, “Ukrainian Pravda” reminds.

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