ID :
115894
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 13:39
Auther :

Ukraine intends to increase lease pay for Russia Black Sea Fleet.



KIEV, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine has raised the issue of
increasing the lease payment for the Russian Black Sea Fleet's base, Prime
Minister Nikolai Azarov said on the Inter television channel on Friday.
"We have proposed to raise the lease payment for the deployment of this
base in Sevastopol," he said.
Azarov noted that Russia has not proposed to Ukraine to extend the
term of the Black Sea Fleet stay in the Crimea in exchange for any
concessions. "We have not herd from the Russian side such proposals so
far, they have been not made officially," the Ukrainian government head
noted.
He said that Russia pays an annual lease of 90 million US dollars
until 2017 within the framework of the agreements on the Ukraine's natural
gas debt settlement worth 2.3 billion US dollars. He also explained that
at the moment of the conclusion of the agreement the country's currency
reserves were less by 1 billion US dollars, therefore the agreement seemed
"extremely advantageous" to Kiev.
The prime minister also said that over this period the Russian natural
gas prices for Ukraine have grown many times.
The Black Sea Fleet is a large sub-unit of the Russian (and formerly
Soviet) Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since
the late 18th century. It is based in various harbours of the Black Sea
and the Sea of Azov.
In 1992, the major part of the personnel, armaments and coastal
facilities of the Fleet fell under formal jurisdiction of the
newly-independent Ukraine as they were situated on Ukrainian territory.
Later the Ukrainian government ordered the establishment of its own
Ukrainian Navy based on the Black Sea Fleet; several ships and ground
formations declared themselves Ukrainian.
However, this immediately led to conflicts with the majority of
officers who appeared to be loyal to Russia. Simultaneously, pro-Russian
separatist groups became active in the local politics of Ukraine's
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Sevastopol municipality where the
major naval bases were situated, and started coordinating their efforts
with pro-Moscow seamen.
To ease the tensions, the two governments signed an interim treaty,
establishing a joint Russo-Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet under bilateral
command (and Soviet Navy flag) until a full-scale partition agreement
could be reached. Formally, the Fleet's Commander was to be appointed by a
joint order of the two countries' Presidents. However, Russia still
dominated the Fleet unofficially, and a Russian admiral was appointed as
Commander; the majority of the fleet personnel adopted Russian
citizenship. Minor tensions between the Fleet and the new Ukrainian Navy
(such as electricity cut-offs and sailors' street-fighting) continued.
In 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty, establishing
two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between
them. Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases to the
Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017. However, the treaty appeared to be far
from perfect: permanent tensions on the lease details (including often
reported issue of lighthouses) control continue to this day. The Fleet's
main base is still situated in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.
However, the current Ukrainian government has declared that the lease will
not be extended and that the fleet will have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.
The newly-independent Republic of Georgia, which also hosted several
bases of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet when it was the Georgian SSR, also
claimed a share of the Fleet, including 32 naval vessels formerly
stationed at Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti. Not a CIS member at that
time, Georgia was not, however, included in the initial negotiations in
January 1992. Additionally, some low-importance bases situated in the
Russian-backed breakaway autonomy of Abkhazia soon escaped any Georgian
control. In 1996, Georgia resumed its demands, and the Russian refusal to
allot Georgia a portion of the ex-Soviet navy became another bone of
contention in the progressively deteriorating Georgian-Russian relations.
This time, Ukraine endorsed Tbilisi's claims, turning over several patrol
boats to the Georgian Navy and starting to train Georgian crews, but was
unable to include in the final fleet deal a transfer of the formerly
Poti-based vessels to Georgia. Later, the rest of the Georgian share was
decided to be ceded to Russia in return for diminution of debt.
Since the 2008 South Ossetia war Russian military officials refused to
let the Black Sea Fleet take part in any joint naval exercises involving
Georgian warships. However, such a statement has little meaning since the
Georgian Navy has ceased to exist (early 2009 it was merged with the
Georgian coast guard).
On December 3, 2009 First Vice Mayor of Sevastopol Vladimir Kazarin
stated that Russia's Black Sea Fleet could lose its combat capability,
given a small number of ships and the absence of new ones.
In October 2009 and November the Black Sea Fleet complained about
inspection of (non-boat) transport vehicles owned by the fleet by the
Sevastopol State Auto Inspectorate and Ukrainian security officers,
calling them "disrespect for the status of the Russian military units and
an unfriendly step aimed at worsening the Russian-Ukrainian relations."
-0-


.Lavrov to take part in RF-Ukraine international coop meeting.

KIEV, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is
continuing his visit to Kiev. On Saturday together with his Ukrainian
colleague Konstantin Grishchenko he will chair the third meeting of the
Subcommittee on international cooperation of the Russian-Ukrainian
intergovernmental commission.
The meeting will discuss issues related to the "Azov-Kerch settlement,
the border and consular problems, cooperation in international
organisations, as well as interaction in the response to new challenges
and threats, settlement of regional conflicts," Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said in the run-up to the meeting. These
themes are regularly considered by six sub-commissions with the same name
created within the framework of the Subcommittee, the diplomat said.
The ministers are to conduct a full-scale "synchronisation of actions"
on the whole range of the bilateral cooperation and international agenda,
including problems of European security and the Dniester settlement
progress. It is necessary to examine a host of unsettled questions piled
up in the Moscow-Kiev dialogue during the "orange revolution" years in the
run-up to the third meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian intergovernmental
commission headed by the two countries' presidents. It is planned that the
meeting will be held in the Ukrainian capital on May 17-18.
Saturday's meeting between Lavrov and Grishchenko will be the third
over the past three months, which "testifies to the active political
dialogue between Russia and Ukraine," Nesterenko noted. The most important
component in the relations between the two countries is economic. "It is
cementing our ties," the diplomat is certain.
"Today Ukraine is one of the leading partners of Russia," he
continued. "In January 2010 Russia's trade turnover with Ukraine increased
more than two times as compared with the same period last year and reached
2132.8 million US dollars, including Russian exports - 1539.9 million US
dollars and imports - 592.9 million US dollars," he said.
-0-ezh


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