Russia has
announced plans to rearm its Black Sea Fleet and has asked Ukraine
to settle the issues regarding the planned deliveries of new weapons to the
naval force, Ukraine’s
defense minister said on Saturday.
"Russia's
desire is understandable - technology is moving ahead, and the desire to rearm
its fleet is fair. That is why it is necessary to solve all the issues at the
legislative level, taking the interests of Ukraine
as a non-aligned country into account," Pavlo Lebedev was quoted by the
ministry’s press service as saying.
However, Lebedev said customs formalities are not within his ministry’s
jurisdiction and therefore the documents concerning the planned arms deliveries
will be sent to the Tax and Income Ministry and the Finance Ministry.
The bulk of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed at the port
of Sevastopol in Crimea
under a lease agreement with Ukraine.
Moscow and Kiev
signed the so-called Kharkiv Agreements on April 21, 2010, extending the fleet's lease on the base
for another 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017.
The sides have yet to agree on the fleet rearmament, taxable supply and the
usage of Sevastopol’s docks.
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