Tuzla Island will be wiped away by the sea

Tuzla Island can soon stop being the object of the argument between the Ukraine and Russia, because it can be wiped away by the sea. For the last 10 days, the sea flow washed away 50 square meters of Kosa Tuzla Island situated in the Kerchenski Strait.

The chief advisor for the Ukranian Foreign Ministry Leonid Osavolyuk told reporters on November 14, that every day 5-7 meters of the island territory are wiped away and this process continues because of the dike constructed by Russia in the Kerchenski Strait.

Russia started the construction  of the dike from Taman Peninsula to Kosa Tuzla Island in September of 2003. This caused tension in relations between Moscow and Kiev and the argument on which country is the real owner of the island. Questions aroused about the way of setting the border between the Ukraine and Russia in the water area of Azov and Kerch.

Currently Moscow and Kiev are conducting negotiations on the Azov Sea and Kerch Peninsula status and discuss if the dike construction is worth completing.

Ukraine claims its ownership of Kosa Tuzla Island. However, Tuzla is not exactly an island. It is a sand spit towering above the water surface. It is the edge part of Taman Peninsula which extends far in the Kerchenski Strait. The spit has several areas towering above the water and Tuzla Island is the biggest of them (the island is 1,5 kilometers long and 800 meters wide).

[Source: Rosbiznesconsulting news agency]