MOSCOW. Sept 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The rent that Russia pays Ukraine for the stationing of its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea should remain the same even if Ukraine fully repays its debt to Russia, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Even if this [the debt clearance] happens, we assume that the issue of the rent payment will remain unchanged, because our agreements stipulate that in this case the sum of $98 million will be paid in cash," Russian Foreign Ministry Special Ambassador Vladimir Dorokhin said during a teleconference from Kyiv on Friday.
At the present time, Russia's annual payment of $98 million for the presence of the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine is being deducted from Kyiv's debt to Moscow, he said.
Any changes to the Russian Black Sea Fleet's functioning and presence in Sevastopol can only be made following consultations, he said.
"All the coordination mechanisms have been developed bilaterally, and they can only be amended through bilateral agreements," he said.
Moscow is not interested in a confrontation over the Black Sea Fleet with Kyiv and is against over-politicizing this issue, Dorokhin said.
"The Russian sailors should be out of politics," Dorokhin said.