29.01.2009
The Ukrainian government must forbid any decision regarding the extension of the agreement allowing the dislocation of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the territory of Ukraine, Boris Kozhin, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy and a member of the Ukrainian National Party (UNP), believes.
“Ukraine’s parliament must immediately pass a draft bill that forbids the executive to even raise the issue of the extension of the leasing agreement of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sebastopol,” UNP said, citing Kozhin.
In addition, according to Kozhin, his party will insist that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry “unilaterally raise before the leadership of the Russian Black Sea Fleet the issue of an immediate step-by-step plan for the withdrawal of the Fleet form Ukrainian territory.”
“If Russian fails to withdraw its fleet from Sebastopol now, it will never leave voluntarily,” Kozhin said.
“If Russia increases the number of warships permanently based in Sebastopol, or the number of troops, it will be the clearest sign that it does not intend to withdraw from the base in 2017,” Kozhin added.
Commenting on information in the media about plans by Russia to increase the number of warships at the base as well as that of troops, Kozhin said that through such plans “the Kremlin plans to even more destabilize the civil and political situation in the city and the Crimea in general.”
“It cannot be excluded that these ‘new recruits’ will remain in Ukraine after leaving the army and receive pensions from Ukraine and Russia, as well as hold both country’s passports,” the official said.
The General Staff of the Russian Navy on January 26 announced intentions to do everything possible to beef up the Black Sea Fleet’s potential in order to “guarantee the protection of the interests of the country and effectively respond to all threats originating from this potentially explosive region.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in response declared that there was no legal basis for the inclusion of new warships into the Russian Black Sea Fleet. A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the criticism from the official of the Ukrainian Foreign Service, stressed that the Russian Black Sea Fleet was strictly abiding by all agreements regulating the dislocation of the Fleet, as well as Ukrainian laws.
Source:
Translation:
RusNavy.com
