Moscow - Ukraine is slowing the work to draft an agreement that would guarantee the Black Sea Fleet's normal work and modernization, a high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry official told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
“The current Ukrainian leadership, like the previous authorities led by ex-president Viktor Yuschenko, argues that the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s modernization can proceed only under the Ukrainian authorities’ control,” he said.
The Russian military official blamed Ukraine for slowing the talks.
“Ukraine’s stubborn position is slowing the cancellation of customs payments when material and goods are imported into Ukraine for the Black Sea Fleet. Meanwhile, an analysis of Ukrainian laws and Russian-Ukrainian agreements shows that these taxes are been levied illegally. This issue was raised by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the first meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Lebedev in Sevastopol on February 20, but Kyiv has been dodging its solution,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry official mentioned other unsettled problems hampering the Black Sea Fleet’s work in Ukraine. He said that after the Caucasus war in 2008 Yuschenko signed two decrees which, contrary to the basic accords on the Black Sea Feet, signed in 1997, introduced a procedure, where official permission is to be secured for the movement of Black Sea Fleet formations in Ukraine, while a relaxed procedure of their movement across the Ukrainian state border was banned.
“Russia’s insistent requests that these restrictions be lifted as they go against the basic agreements, have not brought any results,” the Russian military official said.
