Ministry of Infrastructure: russia's powers in the Danube Commission have been suspended

Another attack on the occupying country on the diplomatic front. On March 17, at an extraordinary session, the Danube Commission adopted a resolution in connection with the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine in violation of the basic principles of the Belgrade Convention.

The Commission condemned the violation of the principles of free and safe navigation along the Danube, as well as the interests and sovereign rights of Ukraine. Russia is liable for economic losses due to reduced cargo turnover in the Danube Delta and the Black Sea due to military threats.

The relevant decision of the Danube Commission is the result of joint work of specialists from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the State Service for Maritime and River Transport of Ukraine.

The adopted resolution provides for the following:

• the powers of any representative of russia in the Danube Commission or his deputies shall be denied until the restoration of peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders;
• representatives of russia are suspended from all meetings of the Danube Commission and its working bodies;
• russian citizens will be dismissed from the diplomatic and administrative-technical positions of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission;
• an appeal to the Committee for the Revision of the Belgrade Convention to find a solution as to whether russia, as a non-Danube state, can continue to be a party to the Convention.

Since the early 1990s, the Ukrainian delegation to the Danube Commission has actively opposed russia's membership as the successor to the Soviet Union, which is not a Danubian state. However, this failed to find the understanding and support of the partners.

In 2021, the representative of Ukraine, namely the Ambassador of Ukraine to Hungary Liubov Nepop, became the chairman of the Danube Commission for the first time. At the initiative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the decision of the Chairman of the Danube Commission, the 12th extraordinary session was convened, during which unprecedented decisions were made, those that could not be achieved since the 1990s.