WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st August, 2018) The United States calls on Russia to allow commercial vessels to head to Ukraine through the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a press release on Thursday.
"We call on Russia to cease its harassment of international shipping in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait," Nauert said.
Nauert also said Russia has delayed hundreds of commercial vessels since April and in recent weeks has stopped at least 16 commercial ships attempting to reach Ukrainian ports.
On August 10, Ukrainian Presidential Representative in Crimea Borys Babin said that the SBU intended to detain Russian vessel Mekhanik Pogodin which was docked in the port of Kherson and belonged to a Russian company sanctioned by Kiev. Babin clarified that there was no decision yet to seize the ship.
On August 17, Ukraine did not let the observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) to access the tanker.
Another Russian vessel was seized in March by the Ukrainian coast guard in the neutral waters of the Sea of Azov. The vessel is registered in Crimea, which Ukraine regards as its territory. Moscow has demanded the immediate release of the "illegally detained" crew and the return of the vessel to its legitimate owner. A Ukrainian court, however, authorized the arrest of the captain, with Ukrainian border guards preventing the crew from leaving the country.
