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Starting from 1878 back when the Treaty of Berlin offered it to Romania and until today, this piece of rock has played various roles that have reflected the interests of the countries in the region. After being a simple location for a lighthouse used for guiding navigation, it became a strategic point for the USSR, the latter annexing it in 1948 through a simple handing over minute, out of the desire to complete its control of the Danube by taking advantage of the military and strategic context of that time. After the fall of the Soviet Empire when it became part of Ukraine, the latter being USSR's successor state, the island has changed its nature and even its importance, with its statute now having major implications in establishing and delimitating [sic] Romania's and Ukraine's territorial seas and continental shelf. And those implications stem from the perspective and goal of exploiting the area's reserves of more than ten million tones of oil and 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The basic treaty between the two countries, a treaty that Romania signed on June 2, 1997 under pressure to fulfil the border stability criteria needed to join NATO, has re-opened the issue in the context of subsequent border delimitation [sic] negotiations.
"World Court draws border between Romania, Ukraine"
The International Court of Justice has drawn the boundary between Ukraine and Romania in the Black Sea, striking a compromise in the longstanding argument.
The court discounted arguments and maps presented by both countries and drew a maritime boundary between the rival claims.
At stake is access to billions of cubic meters of natural gas and an estimated 10 million tons of oil, but it was unclear how the new line would divide those resources.
Romania said it got 79% of its claim. But Ukraine's deputy foreign minister Oleksandr Kupchyshyn said both parties were satisfied with the judgment, which he called a wise compromise.
The decision Tuesday by the court, the U.N.'s highest judicial body, is final and binding on both sides.
SOURCE: USA Today (March 4, 2009)
"State raid on Ukraine gas HQ raises fears of energy crisis"
Fears of a new European energy crisis were mounting on Wednesday after masked gunmen from Ukraine's intelligence agency stormed the headquarters of the state gas company in a raid that could throw relations with Russia back into crisis.
[snip]
Millions of European consumers were left without gas for the first two weeks of this year after Russia severed supplies to Ukraine over a payment dispute that observers said involved political wrangling. Ukraine acts as a conduit for 80 per cent of Russian gas bound for Europe.
SOURCE: Adrian Blomfield, Daily Telegraph
(March 4, 2009)
"I...drink...your...milkshake. I drink it up!"
Daniel Plainview, "There will be Blood", Miramax films, 2007
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![[Black Sea] Serpent's Island [H3]](./downloads/1_HVR.gif "[Black Sea] Serpent's Island [H3]")