Ukraine will not demand the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia from Sevastopol before the year 2017, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has said in an interview with the Fifth TV Channel of Kiev, Itar-Tass reports.
“Ukraine’s international obligations do not provide either for the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet before the fixed date, or for the prolongation of the term of its deployment in the Crimea,” he stressed. Yatsenyuk assured that “Ukraine is a European country, which fulfils its international commitments.” At the same time, he added that “the prolongation of the deployment of the Russian fleet in Sevastopol is out of the question.”
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on Monday that his visit to Moscow had been prepared already. It will take place after the end of the parliamentary elections in Ukraine. “A change of government and parliament makes a strong impact on bilateral relations. All contacts should be maintained after the end of the electoral process,’ Yushchenko said. According to his information, all documents, needed for his visit to Moscow, have been initialled on the level of national foreign ministries and security councils. “Four weeks ago we forwarded some 20 initiatives dealing with bilateral agreements, which are to be signed for the development of the new treaty on a temporary deployment of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. Most of the diplomatic time will be spent on those documents – on their finishing and adoption,” Yushchenko said.