Posted on 02/14/2006 1:10:33 PM PST by lizol
Russia Refuses Ukrainian Rent Hike
By NATASHA LISOVA Associated Press Writer © 2006 The Associated Press
KIEV, Ukraine — Russia will not pay more to base its Black Sea Fleet in a Ukrainian port, a senior Russian official said Tuesday, rebuffing Ukrainian demands and setting the stage for the latest dispute between the ex-Soviet neighbors.
Russian and Ukrainian officials, however, said talks would continue and agreed to conduct an inventory of disputed lighthouses and other property in the Black Sea, which Ukraine insists it owns and accuses Russia of illegally taking over.
The dispute stems from Ukrainian efforts to review a 1997 agreement on dividing up the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, which allowed the Russian navy to remain in the Crimean port of Sevastopol until 2017.
Under the agreement, Russia paid an annual rent of $93 million.
Following a New Year's dispute that saw Russia turning off natural gas supplies, Ukrainians have suggested recently that the price should reflect market rates, warning it could increase up to 20 times to $1.8 billion.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin rejected any increase.
"We fully proceed from the assumption that the price of the base will not change," Karasin told reporters.
Tuesday's talks were held under the auspices of a new presidential commission set up to deal with disputes that frequently arise between Moscow and Kiev.
Last month, the neighbors traded barbs during a dispute over gas prices, which resulted in a nearly twofold increase in prices for Ukraine.
One of Russia's main arguments was that there was no reason for it to continue to subsidize the Ukrainian economy and that the time was right to start charging market prices.
The Ukrainians are now attempting to use the same argument over the Black Sea Fleet.
Kiev has also demanded that Russia surrender lighthouses and other property along the Crimean coast that Ukraine claims were not part of the fleet agreement. Moscow says that it is entitled to use the lighthouses.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ogryzko said that Ukraine owns the lighthouses, but would consider a compromise where its ownership is "fixed in a legal form, and after this we could propose that some of the objects be used by both sides."
The Russian official did not immediately respond to the proposal.
Ties between Moscow and Kiev have been increasingly tense under the pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, who has tried to shake off Russian influence since coming to power early last year.
More "market based" economics from fascist imperialist Russia. "Give us the price we want or we'll just take whatever we want with violence!"
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