The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, will hold on April 27 an additional plenary session on the ratification of a Russian-Ukrainian naval base deal, the head of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee said on Thursday.
The Russian and Ukrainian presidents on Wednesday agreed to extend a lease on a Russian naval base in Ukraine's Crimea in exchange for a 30% cut in gas prices for Ukraine. The lease agreement extends Russian naval presence in the port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017, and may be further extended by another five years.
Konstantin Kosachyov said the agreement may be submitted to the State Duma for the ratification on Friday.
State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said he hoped the Ukrainian parliament will also ratify the deal.
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti)
