Russia acquires even greater military, economic and political power, having under its possession the Sea of Azov, in confluence with the Crimea, in the Black Sea. The Sea of Azov will receive a new status after the entry of the Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions into Russia. This is a serious strategic decision for Russia, affecting the areas of security, trade, tourism and fisheries. After the referendum, freight traffic will be fully restored and it will be possible to implement many different programs, the head of the Crimean parliament clarified.
It is recalled that DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions voted in a referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
The importance of the Azov Sea
Since ancient times, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea together with the Crimean Peninsula and the Kerch Strait have been seen as an area of constant disputes and a place of opposing political interests.
However, throughout history, the region has also proved highly profitable for countries that have managed to gain control on both banks of the Kerch Strait.
The Sea of Azov, although it is a very small and semi-enclosed sea, has historically played a crucial role many times. However, due to its geospecificity, the Sea of Azov is the most isolated sea in the world that enters deep into the Eurasian continent, being isolated from the key geostrategic regions of Eurasia.
For example, it is quite far from the Middle East, the Caucasus and the main theaters of Eastern European conflicts. Thus, due to its geographical distance, the geopolitical situation in the Sea of Azov remained dormant during long historical periods.
However, when a particular state controls both Crimea and two coasts of the Kerch Strait, it creates a situation in which every other state located on the coastline of the Sea of Azov is denied access to any waterway outside the sea.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the political status of Mariupol and Berdyansk, two large cities located in the Pryazovian region (also known as the Cis-Azov region), has been equally important due to their industrial and economic importance.
In addition to the above, the Sea of Azov if it remained in the hands of the Ukrainians would allow the naval forces of NATO to gain access to the soft background of continental countries, such as Russia.
What does the occupation of the Ukrainian coast by Russia in the Black Sea mean?
In addition to the above, however, the possible occupation of all the coastal territories of Ukraine in the Black Sea by Russia, in addition to Crimea and the Sea of Azov, will have a particularly negative impact on Turkey, and I explain.
Ukraine will now become a continental state in such a case. The Russian navy will increase in size in the Black Sea, dwarfing the Turkish one in the Northern Sea region, forcing Turkey to increase its own naval presence there.
In this case, the Black Sea does not serve Turkey’s geostrategic ideology of the “Blue Homeland”, which means that Ankara will be forced to commit warships, human resources, money and inside a sea area that cannot extended.
Also, its plans for the imposition of the “Blue Homeland” at the expense of Greece and Cyprus in the SE Mediterranean will go back in time, something that Turkey does not want.
From the above, it can be concluded that Russia is gaining even greater military, economic and political power, having under its possession the Sea of Azov, in confluence with Crimea, in the Black Sea.
This is awe-inspiring in Turkey, which would absolutely not want Russian sovereignty to extend to the side of Odesa and, in general, the region of Ukraine west of Crimea.
