You're reading: Russia seeks to dispel worries about Azov Sea dam

Project, part of coastal zone rehabilitation, won’t infringe Ukraine’s sovereignty or violate treaties, says Foreign Minister

from the building of a dam in the Azov Sea, saying it wouldn’t violate any international treaties.

After meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Kostyantyn Hrishchenko, Ivanov said a new border guard station being built on the dam was part of a rehabilitation of the coastal zone in a thin channel in the sea.

“Our side stated that the operations would not violate the treaty commitments of both countries,” Ivanov said, according to Interfax news agency.

Ukraine has claimed the Russian dam under construction would join Ukrainian territory with Russian land.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma signed a treaty in January delineating the border between the two most populous former Soviet republics. However, the status of the Azov Sea remained uncertain.

Ukraine remains fearful that Moscow harbors designs on Ukrainian territory, and the resource-rich Azov Sea has been a point of sometimes sharp disputes between the countries.