Geographia Napocensis Anul IX, Nr. 2, 2015

THE CONFLICTS ON THE ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN BORDER, A STRUGGLE FOR THE MOUTHS OR AN INHERITANCE FROM THE SOVIET PERIOD?

1 CSABA M. KOVÁCS

Abstract: - The Conflicts on the Romanian-Ukrainian Border, a Struggle for the Danube Mouths or an Inheritance from the Soviet Period ? The dispute between and has a complex2/2015 nature and goes back to the history preceding the existence of both national states. The territory belonging today to Romania, Ukraine and Moldova used to be a buffer zone between the Ottoman, Russian and Habsburg Empires, and the frontier line changed very often even in modern times. However, the presentnr, border disputes between Romania and Ukraine were inherited from the communist period (1948-1989), as the bilateral agreements did not follow exactly the terms of the Paris Treaty of 1947. The consequences emerged after 1997 when, in spite of a new official border treaty with Ukraine, Romania had to addressIX, the ICJ from the Hague on the matter of the shelf.

Key-words: border conflict, maritime frontier, delimitation, maritimeAN areas

1 Introduction northeastern borders are much older than the The relations between Romania and its existence of the present day states. In a larger neighbours were not always the best, with ups frame, these disputes originate in the particular and downs, changing episodes of partnership, geographical position of our country, situated friendship, periodic cooling, verbal or legal either at the periphery or at the limit of major disputes and even open hostility. That was more empires since its very early history, which than true for our relation with Ukraine, our usually made our territory a buffer zone. northeastern neighbour, and not only since The territories of the later principalities of 1991, when it became an independent state, but Walachia, Moldova and were a longtime before that. NAPOCENSISperiphery of the Roman Empire, then a transit The causes of the conflict cover several zone or a temporary settlement area for several problems, such as: irredentist nationalism on migratory peoples in the early Middle Ages. both sides of the border, human rights and The Kingdom of Hungary, born at the beginning census issues connected to national minorities, of the second millennium, conquered and jurisdiction disputes between the orthodox assimilated Transylvania, but it claimed also national patriarchates, unsolved borderline sovereignty over the territories situated to east issues on the Lower Danube since 1948, and south of the Carpathians, even if just as environmental issues with mutual accusations of buffer zones for the attacks coming from East. environmental damagesgeographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro and different diplomatic This claim became a formal dependence after strategies and priorities due to internal political the principalities of Walachia and Moldova th struggles and orientation. were founded in the 14 century, when the Romanian princes, in exchange for GEOGRAPHIA2 Historical backgrounds Transylvanian feuds, recognized the Hungarian The formation of modern Romania was the king as their suzerain. This was a clear situation result of a long and painful process, in a more as long as Hungary remained the undisputed than complicated geopolitical context, which major power in Central Europe, periodically explains why the conflicts at its present extending its influence on Poland, on the Serbian and the Bulgarian principalities, when 1 Babeş-Bolyai University, Departament of Geography in Hungarian, 400009 Cluj-Napoca, Romania, [email protected] 63 Csaba M. Kovács

the Byzantine Empire was more and more The modern era for the international becoming a shadow of itself and the Russian relations in the area was inaugurated by principalities were mostly fighting against each Catherine the Great, under whose rule the other. gained not only the access to The emergence of the Ottoman Turks in the the Black Sea (annexing by 1783 the territories Balkans in the second half of the 14th century until the Southern Bug river), but also the right rapidly changed the geopolitical situation in the of protection of orthodox Christians living in the area, as the Serbian and Bulgarian territories Ottoman Empire, at the Treaty of Küçük were gradually conquered and Walachia was put Kaynarca in 1774. The next year, as a reward of in the situation of defending itself more or less her favourable attitude in the war, Austria successfully1, while Moldova became annexed the northwestern part of2/2015 Moldova, temporarily a subject of dispute between Poland known since as province, then in and Hungary. In the 15th century Hungary was 1792, at the end of the next russo-turkish war, still able to resist and defeat most of the Turkish Russia annexed the so-callednr, Transnistria, the attacks, but after the Turks conquered most of territory between the Bug and Dniester rivers. the Balkan Peninsula and finally the city of The most importantIX, territorial change for the Constantinople, Moldova also became a target Romanian Principalities came after the Treaty for Ottoman conquest, resisting successfully of , in 1812, when the eastern half of until the end of the 15th century, but finally Moldova, known since as , was being forced to pay tribute to the Turks2. included to AN the Russian Empire. The next The Ottoman domination became Russo-Turkish war (1828-1829) consecrated overwhelming after the fall of Hungary in 1526 again the Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe. and the conquest of its capital Buda in 1541, Concluded by the Treaty of Adrianople, the though the principalities of Transylvania, Turkish cities left to the Danube (Brăila, Walachia and Moldova were able to preserve a Giurgiu and Turnu) with their annexed large internal autonomy until the end of the 17th territories (rayas) were ceded to Walachia, century. In 1672 Poland lost Kamieniec and the fixing the border on the thalweg of the Danube, region of Podolia to the Turks, but after the but the islands of the were given siege of in 1683, the Habsburgs finally to Russia. The peace treaty was followed in conquered Hungary and by 1699 the Turks were 1834–1835 by the Organic Regulations, some expelled to south of the DanubeNAPOCENSIS3. At the same quasi-constitutional organic laws enforced by time, a fourth major power in the area became the Imperial Russian authorities in Russia, which fought under Peter the Great and . This also meant the formal several wars against the Ottomans, but after the instauration of a Russo-Turkish condominium failed campaign on the river in 1711, the on the Danubian Principalities, reinforced after objective of gaining the access to the Black Sea the revolutionary movements of 1848 by the was postponed for several decades4. Convention of Balta Liman (May 1849). The international statute of the Danubian Principalities changed significantly again after 1 In 1417 Wallachia lostgeographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro the province of Dobrogea to the Ottoman Empire, when prince Mircea had to pay an the Crimean War. The Treaty of Paris (1856) annual tribute and send one of his sons hostage to placed the principalities, still as Ottoman Constantinople as a guarantee of his loyalty to the Sultan. vassals, under the protectorate of all European 2Moldova lost in 1484 to the Turks the cities of Kilia and Powers (the United Kingdom, the French GEOGRAPHIAMoncastro (later Akkerman, today Belgorod Empire, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, Dnestrovski), then further southern territories between 1434-1438, known as Ancient Bessarabia or Bugeac. Prussia, Austria and Russia). Russia lost the 3 The final frontiers between the Ottoman and Habsburg territory it had been granted at the mouth of the Empires on the -Danube line were fixed only in 1739 at the Peace Treaty of . 4 Russia and the Ottoman Empire already fought three wars, with Austria directly involved (on Russia’s side) wars before 1711, and between 1735 and 1878, six more between 1735-1739 and 1787-1792. 64 The conflicts on the Romanian-Ukrainian border, a struggle for the Danube mouths or an inheritance from the soviet period?

Danube: the islands of the delta ceded to Turkey the second time, declared Bessarabia to be Soviet and three counties of territory under foreign occupation. (Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail) ceded to Moldova, According to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it was forced to abandon its claims to protect Article 4 of the secret Annex, Bessarabia fell Christians in the Ottoman Empire in favour of within the Soviet interest zone. On June 26, France and practically lost its influence over the 1940, the USSR issued an ultimatum to Romanian principalities. The international Romania, demanding immediate cession of protection proved to be a very favorable context Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Romania for political unification when, in January/ was given four days to evacuate its troops and February 1859, the principalities created a fait officials. On August 2, the Moldavian Soviet accompli situation by electing the same person, Socialist Republic was established on2/2015 most of A. I. Cuza, as their prince. the territory of Bessarabia, merged with the When the last Russo-Turkish war broke out western parts of the former Moldavian ASSR. in May 1877, the unified Romania proclaimed its Bessarabia was divided betweennr, the Moldavian independence and joined the war on the Russian SSR (70% of the territory and 80% of the side. Its reward was the recognition of the population) and the Ukrainian SSR. Bessarabia's independence at the peace treaties of San Stefano northern and southernIX, districts (nowadays and Berlin (1878), but also the territory of and parts of the Chernivtsi oblast) were alloted to Ukraine, while some territories Northern Dobrogea, given as a compensation for 2 the three counties of southern Bessarabia, which (4,000 km ) AN on the left (eastern) bank of the Russia occupied and refused to cede to Romania Dniester (present Transnistria), previously part (though the integrity of Romanian territory was of Ukraine, were allotted to Moldavia. In stipulated in the bilateral treaty preceding the addition, On October 25/26, 1940, soviet troops war). As a result, the frontier between Romania occupied six islands south of the Kilia thalweg. and the Russian Empire became the Prut river Between June 22 and July 26, 1941, and the lower Danube, with the largest Chilia Romanian troops with the help of Wehrmacht branch within the delta sector. recovered not only Bessarabia and northern Romania became a kingdom in 1881 and Bukovina, but took control of the the entire finally an important new factor in Eastern region between Dniester and Southern Bug European politics. This became firstly obvious rivers, including the city of . The when the after the second Balkan’s War in 1913, Romanian-administered territory - called the it annexed Southern , thenNAPOCENSIS in 1916 when, Transnistria Governorate - with an area of after carefully negotiated preconditions, joined 44.000 km2 and a population of 2,3 mln the Entente in WWI. Though in 1917 the Central inhabitants, was divided into 13 counties, with Powers defeated and occupied the most nearly 200,000 Romanian-speaking residents. important parts of Romania, the ultimate results During the offensive of August 1944, the were beyond expectations: after the soviet troops conquered again Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, and after the truce of of Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina th proclaimed in 1918 the unification to Romania, September 12 , the soviet border patrols the Peace Treatiesgeographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro of Versailles (1920) occupied without a fight all the islands situated recognized almost all new territorial annexations. south of the navigable channel of the Kilia However, the union of Bessarabia (though branch. The Peace Treaty of Paris (signed in recognized by France, United Kingdom, Italy, 1947) fixed the Soviet-Romanian boundary on the Kilia thalweg (as it was between 1878- and Japan) never came into force, because Japan th GEOGRAPHIAdid not ratify it. The United States refused to sign 1914), but on February 4 1948 Romanian the treaty on the grounds that Russia was not prime minister P. Groza and Soviet foreign represented at the Conference. Soviet Russia secretary V. Molotov signed a special protocol (and later, the USSR) did not recognize the about the frontier between Romania and the union, and by 1924, after its demands for a USSR, according to which six Romanian regional plebiscite were declined by Romania for Islands (Coasta Dracului, Daleru mare, Daleru

65 Csaba M. Kovács

mic, Maican, Limba and the Serpents’ Island) delimiting the continental shelf and exclusive were ceded to the , while two other economic zones of Romania and Ukraine. islands (Tatomir and Cernofca), also occupied Oil (10 million tons) and natural gas by the Soviets in 1944, were recognized as deposits (1 billion m³) were discovered under belonging to Romania and evacuated. Though the seabed nearby. The natural resources are not this protocol was not ratified, on November 25th significant though, as they can be exhausted in 1948 the representatives of the foreign offices 2–3 years of development. BP and Royal from both countries signed on the field an Dutch/Shell signed prospect contracts with agreement establishing the frontier line on Ukraine, while Total with Romania. Austrian Musura Channel and Bay. The protocol was OMV also signed a contract with Naftogas of kept secret until February 27th 1961, when Ukraine and Chornomornaftogaz 2/2015 to jointly Romania and the USSR signed the official participate to an auction for a concession of the treaty about the frontiers’ status, collaboration area. and mutual assistance. On June 20th 1961, the Due to its geographic position,nr, Snake Island documents signed in 1948-1949 were ratified by status dramatically affects the maritime frontier the Romanian State Council, but neither by the line between the two countries. If Snake Island Parliament of Romania, nor by the Supreme is an island, then continentalIX, shelf around Snake Soviet of the USSR, which made them Island should be considered as Ukrainian water. unconstitutional and thus legally invalid from If Snake Island is not an island, but a cliff, then the international point of view. in accordanceAN with international law the At the dismantlement of the USSR in 1991, maritime boundary between Romania and Romania was among the first countries to Ukraine should be drawn without taking into recognize the independent Ukraine, which consideration the isle location. The Romanian inherited the unsolved border situation. In side claimed that Ukraine was developing Snake February 1992, diplomatic relationship was Island in order to prove its island status as established, with embassies in Kiev and contrary to a cliff. Bucharest. In 1997; the NATO advised In general, the islands are “special” or Romania to solve its territorial issues with “relevant” circumstances to be considered in Ukraine before joining the organization. each act of delimitation effected either by states The Romanian-Ukrainian de facto border on themselves or with the help of a third party, the Musura branch and the belonging of five such as the ICJ, and depending on the from the six mentioned islandsNAPOCENSIS to Ukraine peculiarity of a given situation, considerations (Maican island remaining still to be disputed) of equity may lead to giving islands full, partial were made official on June 2nd 1997, when the or even no effect in determining entitlement to first borderline treaty was signed at Constanţa. maritime areas. In June 2003, a second borderline treaty was The decision of the ICJ in this case was not signed by Ukraine and Romania at Chernowtzy. easy to predict. Even if the ICJ declares Snake However, both sides have agreed that if no Island to be an “island”, in delimiting the resolution on maritime borders can be reached maritime zones, the ICJ may take into account within two years, then either side can go to the “special” or “relevant” circumstances (the fact International Courtgeographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro of Justice to seek a final that the Black Sea is the “enclosed or semi- ruling. enclosed sea” which would make the maritime delimitation more difficult, the presence of the GEOGRAPHIA3 The dispute on the Serpents’ Island Serpents’ island, its location, significance etc.) and the Black Sea continental plateau and give the Serpents’ Island either full, or On September 16th, 2004 the Romanian side some, or none effect at all. brought a case to the Court following The court delivered its judgment on unsuccessful bilateral negotiations. On February February 3, 2009, which divided the sea area of 3rd, 2009 the Court revealed its verdict, in which the Black Sea along a line which was between it established a single maritime boundary the claims of each country.

66 The conflicts on the Romanian-Ukrainian border, a struggle for the Danube mouths or an inheritance from the soviet period?

On the Romanian side, the Court found that claims (in case of other branches of the Danube the landward end of the dyke, not the become silted). Moreover, a northern version of manmade end should be used as a base point for the boundary would make the new navigable the establishment of the provisional channel of the Bâstroe branch a sector for equidistance line. The Court noted that the international navigation and hence Ukraine functions of a dyke are different from those of a should share the taxes with Romania. port, and only harbor works are regarded as forming part of the coast. 4 The Bâstroe Channel and the On the Ukrainian side, the Court found that Musura Bay Snake Island cannot be taken to form part of In August 2004, Ukraine inaugurated the Ukraine’s coastal configuration. The Court first sector of the newly built Bâstroe2/2015 Channel explained that "to count Serpents’ Island as a (also known as Bystroe Channel, Danube-Black relevant part of the coast would amount to Sea Channel), in the Danube Delta. This was grafting an extraneous element onto Ukraine’s among the main Ukrainian waterwaynr, until 1959, coastline; the consequence would be a judicial when its exploitation stopped due to natural refashioning of Geography" The court silting. There was IX, a project proposed by concluded that Snake Island "should have no Ukraine to reopen its navigation. According to effect on the delimitation in this case, other than official Ukrainian plans, it was to be completed that stemming from the role of the 12-nautical- in 2008. The 0intent was to provide a deep- mile arc of its territorial sea". water route fromAN the Danube to the Black Sea While the judgment draws an equitable line under Ukrainian control, in order to reduce ship between both parties, Romania got a larger transit costs and provide an alternate route to chunk (9700 sq km or 79.34%) of the disputed Romania. area from the continental shelf, allowing it to Ecologists have raised significant concerns exploit 80% of estimated 100 billion cubic about damage to the Danube Delta ecosystem. meters of natural gas deposits and 15 million The Danube Delta has been a UNESCO World tons of petrol located underneath the seabed. Heritage Site since 1991. The European Union Although according to Ukraine's commissioner has repeatedly asked Ukraine to halt the project, in the UN International Court, almost the whole as have Romania and the United States. The of oil and gas reserves are concentrated in the Worldwide Fund for Nature has said the canal part of the sea shelf going to Ukraine. threatens the delta's most important wetland, The island Maican, the smallestNAPOCENSIS of the six where 70 percent of the world's white pelicans islands ceded by Romania to the USSR and 50 percent of cormorants live. according to the before mentioned 1948 Groza- After the apparent failure of diplomatic Molotov protocol, was „inherited” by Ukraine efforts, the government of Romania, where most in 1991. As Romania contested the international of the Danube Delta lies, is reportedly validity of this protocol, the status of five considering building a 20 km canal that would islands was cleared by the borderline treaties of absorb the Danube's water upstream of Ukraine's Constanţa (June 1997) and Chernowtzy (June small piece of the river, in order to render the 2003), with the exceptiongeographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro of the island Maican. planned Bastroe Channel useless and thereby After April 2009, the Romanian delegation of discourage Ukraine from attempting such a the Romanian-Ukrainian border commission project. The Romanian canal would be designed made a first attempt to trace the boundary at so that it could be shut at any time, returning the GEOGRAPHIAnorth of island Maican, claiming that the natural river more or less to its current state. silting of the southern branch made it unsuited The official inauguration of the project was for navigation and thus the borderline should be scheduled for Ukrainian Independence Day on the northern branch. August 24, 2004 but was postponed until August The Ukrainian side refused this claim, 26. On August 24, around 140 non-profit arguing that it would create a dangerous organisations and trade unions submitted an open precedent for further Romanian territorial letter at the Ukrainian embassy in Bucharest,

67 Csaba M. Kovács

Romania saying the project may endanger more perspectives of economic changes and than 280 bird species and 45 freshwater fish cooperation, resulting in lost opportunities and species living in the delta.. On August 26 regional underdevelopment. The commercial Ukraine officially inaugurated the project and the changes between the two neighbours are Romanian government announced plans to bring declining, the transportation in the vicinity and a lawsuit against Ukraine at the Hague-based through the borderline is difficult, the border International Court of Justice, invoking the traffic is dominated by smuggling and Ramsar Convention on wetlands. In May 2005, corruption, and the infrastructural development parties of the Aarhus Convention agreed on is quasi non-existent. However, the recent political sanctions against Ukraine. Ukraine evolutions in Ukraine and the conflict with announced the temporary halt of the project in Russia offered new opportunities for2/2015 emproving June, 2005. In February 2006 "The Conference biltareal relations. for the Sustainable Development of the Danube The decision of the ICJ on the Serpents’ Delta" was held in Odessa with participation of Island and the Black Sea continentalnr, plateau Romania, Moldova and Ukraine and involved proves that the competition for natural resources international organizations. Work on the channel can be solved by reasonable compromises. is still planned in accordance with international Unfortunately this wasn’tIX, the only issue to be conventions. solved, but the recent evolutions and the civil The most recent reason of dispute between the war in Eastern Ukraine makes the border two neighbours appeared in 2006, when the conflicts betweenAN Romania and Ukraine Ukrainian border patrol changed the beaconing of marginal compared to the conflict with Russia. the borderline, moving the beacons next to the The expected Shengen membership of northern dike of Sulina branch. The reason Romania (which is only a matter of time and claimed was the silting of Musura Bay, leading to actual politics) will need a better relation with a natural increase of Ukrainian territory and thus the non EU member neigbours, in order to to a new delimitation of territorial waters too. reinforce the eastern border, so the positive attitude of Ukraine and Moldova towards 5 Conclusion cooperation will be indispensable in the future. The multiple border conflicts between That is why Romania needs to improve its Romania and Ukraine are constatnly relationship not only with its EU-member deteriorating the relationship between the two neighbours, but with the eastern ones too. neighbours, charging it withNAPOCENSIS useless tensions and distrust. The mutual accusations and chicanes do not serve the interests of any part REFERENCES concerned, they just cause useless trouble and Geopolitikai helyzet suspicion between them. The nationalist [1] KOVÁCS, CS. M., (2011), és közigazgatási földrajz (Geopolitical Situation political climate is an important background and Administrative Geography), in: Románia. cause of the bad relationship, periodically Tér, gazdaság, társadalom (Romania. Space, affected by the government changes in both Economy, Society), editor J. Benedek, Kriterion, countries. Generallygeographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro speaking, there was no Cluj-Napoca. Romania. signficant difference between the nationalism of [2] Stănică, A., Dan, S., Ungureanu, V. Gh.(2007) post-1989 Romanian governments (all major Coastal Changes at the Sulina Mouth of the Romanian party and government of the last two Danube River as a Result of Human Activities, GEOGRAPHIAdecades was moderatly nationalist, pro- Marine Pollution Bulletin 55 (2007) European and pro-Atlantic), but there was a [3] *** (2009), Maritime Delimitation in the Black significant difference between the orientation of Sea (Romania v. Ukraine), International Court Ukranian governments and presidents, revealing of Justice Press Release, No.2009/9, 3 February the deep divisions of ukrainian internal politics. 2009, The Hague, Netherlands. The lack of mutual trust is damaging the

68