The maritime boundary between Russia and Turkey was established as part of a bilateral agreement that was reached in 1978 between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Turkey. Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the former Soviet states of Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine all agreed to honor the established maritime boundary. However, the 1978 Agreement did not determine the precise locations where lateral boundaries between the former Soviet states would intersect this previously established boundary line.