Providing Crimea with water is responsibility of Russia that occupied peninsula - President's representative office

Providing Crimea with water is the responsibility of Russia, which has occupied the peninsula. This is said in the comment of the President's representative office in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

It notes the groundlessness of accusations of the Russian authorities regarding Ukraine's obligations to supply water to the peninsula annexed by Russia.

"Part one of Article 55 of the Convention for the Protection of Civilian Population in War-time of August 12, 1949 (the Fourth Geneva Convention) provides that the occupier country must, using all the available means, provide the population with food and medical supplies; in particular, supply the necessary food, medical materials and other supplies, if the resources of the occupied territory are insufficient", - the President's representative office recalled.

Thus, the direct obligation of the occupier country is to provide the civilian population of the occupied territory with all the necessary resources, including water.

"Water supply to the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is a rather expensive undertaking for the Russian Federation as an occupier country. That is why it is trying and will continue to try to persuade Ukraine to restore water supply to the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimean peninsula using direct pressure and pressure on international partners", - the comment says.

As previously reported, on September 11, the Kremlin curator of the Crimea seized by Russia Sergey Aksyonov stated that he considered it necessary to initiate criminal proceedings against the people who ordered to block the North Crimean Canal. Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated on the same day that the "water blockade of the Crimea" could be regarded as "Ukraine's violation of its human rights obligations enshrined in international documents".