Kazakhstan protests Ukraine over attack on Caspian oil terminal in Russia

ISTANBUL

Kazakhstan on Sunday issued a protest over what it described as “another deliberate attack” on an oil terminal in the Black Sea, saying it expects Ukraine to take “effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said in a statement that Astana expressed protest over the incident on Saturday, which it said targeted “critical infrastructure” belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) “in the waters of the Port of Novorossiysk” in southern Russia.

“This incident marks the third act of aggression against an exclusively civilian facility whose operation is safeguarded by norms of international law,” Smadiyarov said.

He further said that Kazakhstan advocates for maintaining the stability and uninterrupted supply of energy resources, and that the CPC plays an important role in supporting the stability of the global energy system.

“We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future,” he added.

On Saturday, the CPC said in a statement that unmanned boats damaged one of the terminal’s single point moorings in a morning attack, adding that “loading and other operations” were stopped in accordance with an order issued by local Russian authorities.

No casualties were reported due to the attack, and there was no preliminary oil spill into the Black Sea, it added.

Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry condemned the attack later in the day, defining such “actions against purely civilian critical infrastructure” as unacceptable. It did not mention who was responsible.

Russia has yet to officially comment on the incident, though state media outlets, including state news agency RIA, reported the damage at the terminal in the port of Novorossiysk as having been caused by a Ukrainian attack.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have yet to comment on the incident or react to Kazakhstan’s statements.

The 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) pipeline operated by the CPC transports oil at the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan on the eastern shores of the Caspian to the marine terminal in Novorossiysk.

ISTANBUL

“This incident marks the third act of aggression against an exclusively civilian facility whose operation is safeguarded by norms of international law,” Smadiyarov said.

No casualties were reported due to the attack, and there was no preliminary oil spill into the Black Sea, it added.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have yet to comment on the incident or react to Kazakhstan’s statements.

The 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) pipeline operated by the CPC transports oil at the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan on the eastern shores of the Caspian to the marine terminal in Novorossiysk.