Ukraine prepares to place a frontier police patrol unit on the controversial territory of the Serpent Island, the KPUnews agency informs. The decision comes as a result of the visit president Viktor Iushchenko made to Odessa in November, when he asked to have a functional unit placed in the island before March 2008. Border Police officials say they do their best to abide the order.

During the same visit, the Ukrainian president claimed that "the Serpent Island is a special territory, which shouldn't look as it does now". In his opinion, order must be made on the island, so that decent living and normal functioning of institutions may be ensured.

The Serpent Island remains a controversial issue in the Romania - Ukraine negotiations, being the subject of one of the main territorial disputes. The case is currently being analyzed by the International Court of Justice.