Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has criticized the actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities to resolve the Tuzla crisis.

Kasyanov told reporters after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich that there is no Russian-Ukrainian border in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait. Kasyanov said Ukraine has taken unilateral actions more than once in the area without waiting for a decision on its status and the border.

Among other things, Kasyanov recalled that Ukraine is extracting gas in the Azov Sea. "On whose territory?" he asked. "We are not sending our ships there and we are not ramming fishing vessels," Kasyanov said.

At the same time, Kasyanov believes it is a "mistake" that the Krasnodar Territory authorities did not inform the Russian government that they were starting the environmental project to restore the Tuzla Spit. "The federal government did not consider this project. This project was prepared by the Krasnodar Territory administration," he said.

"I believe it was a mistake. They should have informed the central government and then Ukraine through the Foreign Ministry," Kasyanov said.

(Interfax 24.x.03)