evidence: Tuzla Island, minimally inhabited, lies in the Kerch Strait between the Crimean Peninsula and the Taman Peninsula. Although this was disputed by the Russian Federation, the island belonged administratively to the Crimea, and was part of Ukraine until 2014. In September 2003, without authorization or notification, the Russian authorities began to construct a causeway from the Taman Peninsula side towards Tuzla Island. The project would have resulted in the island’s incorporation into the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian government dispatched border guards to the area as a show of force. After a conversation between presidents Leonid Kuchma and Vladimir Putin, construction was halted in October 2003 about 100 meters short of the island. In December, a treaty was concluded between the two states making the Sea of Azov an internal body of water common to them both, not under the rule of international law and restricting passage of foreign naval vessels (e.g., NATO) thereto. This gave Moscow control over shipping in the Sea of Azov, to the detriment of Ukrainian port facilities located there while Ukraine retained control of the island.