"Principal Step": The Danube Commission excluded Russia from its warehouse - Kuleba

During the presidency, Ukraine decided that Russian membership is incompatible in view of its drones and missile attacks on the Lower Danube. Russia should withdraw from the Danube Commission until February 29, 2024, otherwise the commission members will no longer recognize their obligations to it. Dmytro Kuleba, Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported this in the microblogged service X.

He noted that in November the Russian Federation was not elected to the International Court of Ukraine, IMO, UNESCO and OPHZ. Moscow has suffered a new diplomatic defeat in the Danube Commission, one of the oldest international organizations in the world. Kuleba reported that the decision was made at the 100th anniversary session. Ukraine presented the organization. Our state has decided that Russian membership is incompatible in view of its drones and missile attacks on the Lower Danube.

This decision is a proper response to violation of the principles of safe and free navigation on the river. The new decision is based on the preliminary decision of the commission, which was adopted on March 17, 2022. It concerned the refusal of Russian powers, the ban on Russians to participate in all meetings and to release the Russians from the Secretariat. "I am grateful to members of the Danube Commission for yesterday's bold and fundamental step," he said.

The Danube Commission is considered one of the oldest organizations in the world. It was created in 1949 in accordance with the decisions of the Belgrade Conference of 1948. It consists of representatives of the Danube states.

The main functions are to observe the implementation of the Convention on the regime of navigation in the Danube 1948, to draw up general plans for the development of navigation on the basis of proposals of the commission states, the unification of rules of sanitary and river supervision, coordination of environmental and hydrometeorological services on the Danube, etc. Recall that in February Russia was expelled from FATF.