Table of contents:
- How the border between Russia and the United States was established, and when it became necessary to "delimit" sea spaces
- What the main provisions of the Baker-Shevardnadze Agreement envisaged
- What is the status of the Agreement today
- What damage has been caused to Russia by the US concession of water areas in the Chukchi and Bering Seas?
Video: Why did Gorbachev donate to the United States part of the USSR's water area in the northern seas, and what does the State Duma of the Russian Federation say about this today?
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In 1990, making concessions to the United States, the USSR gave them a huge territory rich in commercial fish and deposits of natural resources. This happened after the signing of the Agreement on June 1, which defined the maritime boundaries between states, giving the United States a much greater territorial advantage. The agreement signed by Shevardnadze and Baker has not yet been ratified by the Russian side, which believes that the procedure was carried out in violation of not only Russian, but also international legislation.
How the border between Russia and the United States was established, and when it became necessary to "delimit" sea spaces
The first border between the United States and Russia appeared in 1867 after the sale of a part of Alaska to America. As a result of the demarcation of the border line on the US side, Fr. St. Lawrence, while the Commander Islands were entrenched in Russia. Maritime spaces remained common, as there was no need for water boundaries at that time.
In 1926, by a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the territory from the mainland of the country to the North Pole was declared the property of the USSR. However, the decision on "polar possessions" did not create clear maritime boundaries, so the waters de facto did not belong to anyone.
The need to "delimit" the sea appeared in 1976 with the emergence of 200-mile fishing zones organized by coastal states. Areas in the Chukchi and Bering Seas often overlapped. To get rid of the related problems, the Union Ministry of Fisheries suggested that the Americans delimit the Arctic Ocean and the Chukchi Sea along a line created and agreed upon in 1687; in the Bering Sea, to eliminate overlapping zones, make the median line the border.
Although the proposed options met all international legal norms, the Americans refused - they believed that they would receive insufficient sea territory upon partition. The States achieved a positive decision for themselves in 1990: after which the Minister of Foreign Affairs E. Shevardnadze and Secretary of State D. Baker signed an agreement establishing the delimitation of water areas.
What the main provisions of the Baker-Shevardnadze Agreement envisaged
The result of the Baker-Shevardnadze Agreement was the establishment of the sea border not along the middle strip, but under the 1867 Convention, which divided the water area into two parts that were disadvantageous to the Soviet Union. The United States owned 70% of the Bering Sea, while the Soviet Union got only 30% of the water surface.
In particular, the United States received water territories of the exclusive economic zone of the Soviet Union with a total size of 31.4 thousand square kilometers; continental shelf of more than 46.5 thousand square kilometers, located in the Bering Sea.
At the same time, a part of the continental shelf with an area of slightly more than 4.5 thousand km² was transferred to the Soviet side. If the division had occurred along the median line, as the USSR insisted earlier, the size of the shelf would have been 78.6 thousand km².
In addition, at the expense of a part of the "donated" exclusive economic zone of the Soviet state, the States received an exclusive economic zone, which in some places exceeded 200 nautical miles from the established border. Such a deviation in size is a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, in particular, Article 57, which fixes the width of the exclusive economic zone.
What is the status of the Agreement today
The ratification of the Agreement by the American Congress took place in a record short time - already in 3, 5 months after signing, the document acquired legal force in the United States. However, in Russia, the Baker-Shevardnadze agreement has been criticized more than once since its inception, so the Soviet and later Russian higher legislative authorities did not ratify the Agreement, giving it the status of a temporary document.
Also, problems arose from the American side: 9 years after the signing, the parliament of Alaska made a statement about the illegality of the maritime borders between Russia and the United States. The parliamentarians substantiated their claims by the fact that Baker did not agree on the terms of the contract with state officials and did not invite them to take part in the procedure. The Alaskan legislature proposed to annul the Agreement, after which new negotiations should be started, taking into account the views and conditions of the Arctic American state.
What damage has been caused to Russia by the US concession of water areas in the Chukchi and Bering Seas?
In the fall of 2002, representatives of the Russian Federation Council (SF) sent a request to the Accounts Chamber with a request to establish financial losses caused by the Agreement of 1990. Four months later, in response to the appeal of the Federation Council members, the Accounts Chamber presented a report, which stated: “Over the 11 years of the treaty, Russia has lost from 1.6 to almost 2 million tons of fish. In monetary terms, this amounted to 1, 8-2, 3 billion US dollars”.
Having ceded sea territory to the United States, Russia has lost the opportunity to catch pollock on average about 200-210 thousand tons annually. Moreover, the disadvantageously established border complicated the passage of ships and blocked the Northern Sea Corridor, an important transport communication for the Russian Federation, on the eastern side. Another disadvantage is that Russian fishermen are not allowed in this area for fishing, while fishing companies in Canada, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan can constantly fish on a quota.
Moreover, the transferred territories have not only significant fish resources, but also vast reserves of gas and oil. Knowing about the deposits of natural raw materials, the US government started selling plots to US companies back in 1982. The number of sold resources from the given territories, according to experts, has already exceeded 200 billion cubic meters of gas and 200 million tons of oil.
And such gifts were given by the general secretaries to their friends.
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