KIEV, UKRAINE (BNO NEWS) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed a border demarcation law between Ukraine and Russia, thus entering a new stage of Russian-Ukrainian relations, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed with Yanukovych the deal to define the border during his visit to Ukraine last May. The Ukrainian parliament ratified the agreement on early July, amid heavy criticism from Ukraine's opposition.

The agreement signed is a crucial element for a potential introduction of visa-free travel between Ukraine and the European Union member states. It was signed by the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers on May 17.

This border demarcation law was necessary due to the dispute of territory in the strait, linking the Azov Sea to the Black Sea since the fall of the Soviet Union. In the 90s, Ukraine unilaterally established a maritime border with Russia, claiming it was based on the Soviet-era administrative border between the two republics.

In 2003, another dispute broke out over the Tuzla Island in the middle of the Kerch Strait. The conflict stemmed after Russia tried to build a dam on the island. In December of that year, then Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma signed an agreement on the joint use of the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait.

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