KIEV, March 28 (RIA Novosti, Vladimir Suprun) - The Ukrainian defense minister said Tuesday that the problems of the Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea fleets would be resolved without creating a stir in the media.
"Should either country run into any problems over its naval activity, they will be resolved without making waves in the media," Anatoliy Hrytsenko said, presenting the country's new naval commander-in-chief, Rear Admiral Ihor Tekhyun.
"The Ukrainian Navy and the Russian Black Sea Fleet should interact closely so that any problems that may arise are dealt with promptly and effectively," the minister said.
An agreement signed by Ukraine and Russia in 1997 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.
After Gazprom sought a significant increase in the price it charged Ukraine for Russian natural gas at the end of last year, Kiev threatened to increase the rent 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.
Hrytsenko said in February that Russia's Black Sea Fleet must withdraw from Ukrainian territory by 2017.
