Russia refuses to attend hearings at International Tribunal on detention of Ukrainian seamen

Russia reported it would not participate in hearings on interim measures in the case of the immunity of Ukrainian warships and their crew members in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Lana Zerkal, - European Pravda reports.

"Russia's consistent refusal to participate in the hearings does not diminish the legitimacy of the release of our seamen, so the hearing will take place as planned - on May 10, 2019 in Hamburg", - Zerkal wrote.

She added that the arguments of the parties - written documents and decoding speeches - will be available already during the hearings. The decision of the Tribunal will be taken by the end of May.

"And even if Russia, in its sequence, will provide its consumers with information on the release of Ukrainian seamen as a valuable service to the newly elected president of Ukraine, the whole civilized world will understand that this is not really a favor, but a fulfillment of the decision of the Tribunal. We do not ask for a service, we demand the immediate release of our seamen as provided by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea", - Zerkal noted.