27.12.2007
Construction of a base for the Black Sea Fleet in the port of Novorossiisk is proceeding according to schedule, Russia's defense minister said on Wednesday.
"Today I have visited Novorossiisk, our Black Sea Fleet base there - the one that we are building as part of a federal program," Anatoly Serdyukov told President Vladimir Putin.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in 2003 setting up an alternative naval base for the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiisk, which the Navy said will be ready by 2012, after Ukraine demanded the base in Sevastopol be closed by 2017.
Russia has allocated 12.3 billion rubles (about $480 million) for the construction of the new base between 2007 and 2012.
The construction of other facilities and infrastructure at the base, including units for coastal troops, aviation and logistics, will continue beyond 2012, the admiral said.
Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in 1997 stipulating that the Black Sea Fleet's main base in Sevastopol, on the Crimean Peninsula, be leased to Russia for 20 years, with the possibility of extending the term.
The annual rent of about $100 million is deducted from Ukraine's debt for Russian energy supplies. In addition to the main base, the Black Sea Fleet maintains two airfields and a ship re-supply facility on the Crimean Peninsula.
But Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said previously that the current rent could be increased in the future.
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