New York - Ukraine's President Victor Yuhschenko said Russia would hopefully withdraw its Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine in May 2017, as agreed.
“We hope the Russian side will deliver on its pledge made in 1997, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet will be withdrawn in May 2017,” Yuhschenko told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday.
Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement in 1997 under which the Black Sea Fleet’s 20-year presence in Crimea ends in 2017, he said.
The constitution does not allow Ukraine to host foreign bases, Yuhschenko said. “It is a direct constitutional norm,” he added.
The Ukrainian side will honor all the terms, laid down in the agreement, the Ukrainian president said.
The Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Ukraine breeds problems, including those of the use of land sites, real estate, radio frequencies and coastal navigation facilities, which must be resolved, said Yuhschenko.
