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The Ukrainian side has undertaken to stop any type of dredging and have given assurances that, in the next period, the necessary steps will be taken to obtain the acceptance of the Ukrainian Naval Forces for the representatives of the Romanian side to enter and carry out measurements on the Chilia branch and on the Bystroye canal, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure informs on Tuesday, through a press release.
According to the same source, on Tuesday, in the town of Ismail (Ukraine), the delegation of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, led by the Secretary of State Ionel Scriosteanu, continued the discussions initiated with the Ukrainian side regarding the works carried out on the Bystroye canal. A delegation of the European Commission also participated in the trilateral meeting.
"At the end of the meeting, the Ukrainian side undertook to stop any type of dredging (operational, investment, etc.). At the same time, the programme of measurements that will be carried out by the AFDJ Galati on the Chilia arm and on the Bystroye canal will be a topic addressed in the following meetings with the Ukrainian side. The participants agreed that the programme should proceed as established, starting from March 15. The Ukrainian side specified that, in the next period, the necessary steps will be taken to obtain the acceptance of the Ukrainian Naval Forces for the representatives of the Romanian side to enter and measure the Chilia arm and the Bystroye canal," the document says.
According to the MTI, the representatives of the European Commission agreed with Romania's requests and underscored that the priority zero for facilitating the transit of goods from Ukraine is to increase the capacity of the Sulina canal. This aspect was emphasized by the representatives of DG MOVE and confirmed by the Ukrainian counterparts.
The measures to increase the capacity of the Sulina canal aim at: increasing the number of pilots; modernizing the beaconing system to be able to navigate safely during the day and night; purchase of technical vessels and modern traffic management software.
"The representatives of the European Commission mentioned that more than 50% of the goods traffic supported by the 'Solidarity Lanes' Plan takes place on the Danube. In this context, they emphasized the importance of increasing the capacity of the Sulina canal, which is a priority for the objectives targeted by 'Solidarity Lanes'," the same press release reads. AGERPRES
