Viktor Yushchenko said the possibility of raising the rent for the Russian Black Sea Fleet's use of port facilities in the Crimea had not been proposed at bilateral talks on the issue held in Kiev Tuesday.
Yushchenko said the talks had focused on "bringing the real state of things in line with the [1997] agreement," and clarifying mechanisms for its implementation to avoid further misunderstandings.
The agreement divided the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, allowing the Russian navy to remain in the Crimean port of Sevastopol until 2017, at an annual rent of $93 million.
Following the dispute at the beginning of the year over Russian natural gas prices, Kiev threatened to increase the leasing rate 20-fold, to $1.8 billion. It also demanded that the Russian navy surrender lighthouses and other property along the Crimean coast, claiming they were not part of the fleet agreement.
