THE CONFLICTS ON THE ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN BORDER, A STRUGGLE FOR THE DANUBE MOUTHS OR AN INHERITANCE FROM THE SOVIET PERIOD?

The Conflicts on the Romanian-Ukrainian Border, a Struggle for the Danube Mouths or an Inheritance from the Soviet Period ? The dispute between Romania and Ukraine has a complex nature and goes back to the history preceding the existence of both national states. The territory belonging today to Romania, Ukraine and Moldova used to be a buffer zone between the Ottoman, Russian and Habsburg Empires, and the frontier line changed very often even in modern times. However, the present border disputes between Romania and Ukraine were inherited from the communist period (1948-1989), as the bilateral agreements did not follow exactly the terms of the Paris Treaty of 1947. The consequences emerged after 1997 when, in spite of a new official border treaty with Ukraine, Romania had to address the ICJ from the Hague on the matter of the Black Sea shelf