Russian and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding on the
construction of a transport passage across the Kerch Strait today,
after the talks in the Kremlin between the countries' presidents,
Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovych, RIA Novosti reports.
The signing of this document is the first step towards the
construction of the bridge connecting Crimea and Caucasus. In October,
the two presidents met in Gelendzhik where they expressed an interest
in finishing the bridge by 2014, before the Sochi Olympic Games.
The bridge across the Kerch Strait could reduce the transport route
from the Ukrainian Kherson to Novorossiysk by 450 kilometres.
According to the experts, the transport passage will make the Crimean
and the Russian part of the Black Sea coast a united resort region and
will be the first step towards the realization of a larger project -
the construction of a circular highway around the Black Sea.
