Russia does not intend to make any concessions on the rent it is paying for the use of Black Sea Fleet facilities in Ukraine, a senior official said Tuesday, RIA Novosty reported.
Grigory Karasin, a Russian deputy foreign minister, said the basic 1997 agreement on the Black Sea Fleet fixed a rent that corresponded to international standards in full.
"The basic agreement on the Black Sea Fleet stipulates a fixed rent, which fully conforms to international norms. We assume the rent is not subject to change," Karasin said after a session of the joint Russian-Ukrainian subcommittee for the Black Sea Fleet held in the Ukrainian capital.
The delegations, headed by deputy foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine, Grigory Karasin and Volodymyr Ogryzko, met in Kiev today to discuss the situation involving the Yalta lighthouse and all other issues essential for the normal functioning of the Black Sea Fleet.
When asked whether Ukraine was going to revise the rent, Ogryzko said: "We will gradually move step by step."
