On December 24, 2003 in Kerch the presidents of Russia and Ukraine signed the Agreement on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. In accordance with the document the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait are the internal waters of Ukraine and Russia. The Sea of Azov is to be divided by the state borderline and the use of the Kerch Strait is to be effected in accordance with the agreement of the sides.
The Agreement of Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait must be ratified by the parliaments of the two states.
During a meeting in Kiev on February 25 speakers of the Supreme Rada and the State Duma (lower house of the Russian parliament) Vladimir Litvin and Boris Gryzlov stated about the necessity of the ratification of the agreement on cooperation in the use of the Azov -Kerch water area in a package with the treaties on the state border and the creation of a common economic space of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine.
