Lider of Ukraine Party: Kerch problem highlights crisis in Russian-Ukrainian relations

'Tuzla has become a symbol of the crisis in our bilateral relations,' Leader of Our Ukraine Party Victor Yuschenko believes. According to Ukrainian news agency Obozrevatel, he made this announcement yesterday at a parliamentary assembly held under the title Ukrainian-Russian relations: the current situation and its prospects. He stressed that Ukraine and Russia are now experiencing the worst crisis in their relations since the Soviet Union broke up. 'It would be wrong to describe current relations as democratic,' Mr Yuschenko stressed.

In his opinion, the situation with the Russian dam that is being built on the Kerch peninsula must be resolved as soon as possible. 'The Ukrainian-Russian border must be taken seriously,' he said.

He said the project to create a single economic zone was transparent and he called on his Russian colleagues to ratify the document on the creation of a free trade zone within the two countries as quickly as possible. The party leader also expressed his dismay that the Ukrainian president and prime minister were absent from the parliamentary assembly.