THE HAGUE, October 11. /TASS/. The incident in the Kerch Strait of November 2018 does not fall under the jurisdiction of international arbitration, Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Lobach told hearings in The Hague on Monday.

"The demands of the Ukrainian side go beyond the jurisdiction of this international arbitration," he said.

The lawsuit regarding the detention of Ukrainian warships and seamen by Russia in the Kerch Strait in November 2018 was filed by Ukraine on April 1, 2019. The Ukrainian side demanded that Russia’s violation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea be recognized. In August 2020, the Russian side filed preliminary objections in the case, calling into question the jurisdiction of the arbitration. The hearings are scheduled to take place before October 16 and will concern exactly the preliminary objections filed by Russia.