KIEV (Sputnik) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered the ministry earlier in the day to initiate the UNCLOS proceedings, nearly a month after Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin’s announcement.
"Ukraine has initiated arbitration proceedings against Russia in accordance with the 1982 [UNCLOS] in order to protect its rights as a coastal state adjacent to the Crimea maritime zones in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that it officially sent a notice of arbitration with the writ to the Russian Foreign Ministry related to the UNCLOS case.
Crimea became part of Russia after almost 97 percent of those who voted in a local referendum on the issue in 2014 supported the move. Ukraine does not recognize the outcome of the referendum and accuses Russia of annexing the peninsula.
