Ukraine may seek to increase by up to four times the amount of
rent it charges Russia's Black Sea Fleet to use its Sevastopol
port, Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoly Gritsenko told a newspaper
on Tuesday.
Ukraine and Russia signed a 20-year lease agreement in 1997
after years of painstaking negotiations, under which Russia is
allowed to remain in the Sevastopol port until 2017, and pays
Ukraine US$93 million annually to lease land and property for its
Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea.
But Gritsenko, in an interview published by Ukraine's Kommersant
Daily, said it is "fully possible" for Ukraine to increase the
price that Russia pays for its Crimean Peninsula base to US$400
million annually.
The proposal comes in the wake of Russia's and Ukraine's very
public and bitter dispute over gas prices, which ended with Ukraine
agreeing to purchase the fuel from Russia and Central Asiaat nearly
double the previous price.
Referring to the row, Gritsenko said: "If in the very important
energy sector ... relations have moved from the category of
'brotherly' to the category of 'fair market,' it's fully logical to
consider that such a step will be carried out in other sectors of
Ukrainian-Russian relations."
Indeed, the fallout seems to have agitated a series of other
disputes between the two countries, including Ukraine's move last
week to deny entry to Russian staff to the lighthouse in the
Crimean city of Yalta.
An eight-member team from the Ukrainian ministry of
transportation entered the Yalta lighthouse on Friday, and barred
access to the Russian personnel. Russia strongly protested against
the move and accused Ukraine of attempting to "seize" the
navigational installations.
But Ukrainian Security Council chief Anatoliy Kinakh said Kiev
was just regaining its rightful jurisdiction over the navigational
facilities, which it claims are not named in the agreement.
However, he added that the council will hold a special session
early next month to discuss the issue.
Another meeting will be held at the level of deputy foreign
ministers on Feb. 16 under the auspices of a Russian-Ukrainian
presidential commission.
"As a sovereign state, (Ukraine) carries full responsibility for
the safety of navigation in its territorial waters. What is
happening around the lighthouses is a question that touches both on
Ukraine's national security and our authority in the world," Kinah
said in a televised interview.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday Ukraine
was sending mixed signals about the "seizure" of the
lighthouses.
"The Black Sea Fleet's hydrography installations ... are named
in the 1997 agreement. The Ukrainian side is lying when it says the
Yalta lighthouse is not included," Lavrov said.
He added that "we are awaiting an official clear
explanation."
After President Viktor Yushchenko took power in late 2004,
Ukraine-Russia relations have become increasingly strained.
Ukrainian officials have always hinted that the country would like
to increase the lease fees, to bring them in line with the payments
that other governments make to house military bases abroad.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2006)
