THE HAGUE, October 5. /TASS/. Russia demanded that all Ukrainian claims in the case concerning the former Soviet republic’s rights as a coastal state in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait be turned down, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Gennady Kuzmin said in a closing statement at court hearings in the Hague.

"Russia asks the court to recognize that Ukraine’s claims do not fall within its jurisdiction and/or that they are irrelevant," the Russian diplomat said. "Or else that all Ukrainian claims be dismissed," he added.

In Kuzmin’s assessment, the hearings on Ukraine’s case against Russia held at the Permanent Court of Arbitration were successful for the Russian side.

"I think they were successful for us," the diplomat who headed the Russian delegation told reporters. "I believe the judges will have something to think about," he added, noting that the Russian delegation had presented a substantive and well-argued position based on legal and factual arguments.

During the proceedings held from September 23 to October 5, a jury of five arbitrators heard arguments members of the delegations, specialists and experts in archeology, cultural heritage and engineering disciplines.

Among the key arguments presented by the Russian side was the assertion that the dispute in general is not governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.