Ukraine to suspend controversial dredging of Bystroye canal

Romanian state secretary Ionel Scrioşteanu announced on March 7, after a meeting regarding the Bystroye canal, that the Ukrainian side committed to stopping any dredging until the situation is clarified, News.ro reported.

This opens the door for smooth clarification of a situation that escalated over the past weeks, related to the alleged illegal deepening of the canal by the Ukrainian side – works that, according to Romanian experts, would breach the agreements and put at risk the environment in the Danube Delta.

The measurement operations scheduled to start on March 15 will take place according to the calendar agreed upon, Scrioşteanu said.

The Ministry of Transport announced that the representatives of the European Commission present at the meeting appreciated that the main priority for facilitating the transit of goods from Ukraine is to increase the capacity of the Sulina canal.

"Today, in the town of Ismail (Ukraine), the delegation of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, led by the secretary of state Ionel Scrioşteanu, continued the discussions initiated with the Ukrainian side regarding the works carried out on the Bystroye canal. A delegation from the European Commission also participated in the trilateral meeting," the Ministry of Transport said in a press release on March 7.

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