"I think it’s too early to anticipate the court’s decision and we won’t make any speculations in this case,” said Romanian foreign minister Cristian Diaconescu.
He added, however, that the court’s decision will be applied and it will be up to political factors to focus on more important issues, of a bilateral, regional and international nature, which are now positive arguments in the relationship between Romania and Ukraine.
In turn, Ukrainian foreign minister Volodimir Ogryzko declined to comment.
"We don’t comment on future rulings, just on facts. We’ll wait for the decision of the Court in The Hague because that will be the final decision,” Ogryzko said.
"I’m sure this decision will be a good cornerstone for the continued development of Romania-Ukrainian relations, including in the continental area of the Black Sea,” he added.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague will rule on February 3 in the case of Romania versus Ukraine on maritime delimitation in the Black Sea.
The dispute between the two neighboring countries concerns the establishment of a single maritime boundary between the two states in the Black Sea, thereby delimiting the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone appertaining to them.
Romania and Ukraine disagree on the course of the maritime boundary to be established, and in particular on the role on this respect of Serpents’ Island, a maritime feature located in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, approximately 20 nautical miles east of the Danube Delta.