The presidents of Ukraine and Russia agreed today to extend the stay of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol after the existing lease expires in 2017, news agencies reported, according to AP. The move is among the first concrete signs of the significant warming of relations between Moscow and Kiev since pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych took power in Ukraine in February. Yanukovych had said he would extend Russia's lease on the base in the Ukrainian port. His predecessor, the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko, had fought to kick the fleet out, calling it a hostile presence in Ukraine. The Russian and Ukrainian news agencies quoted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as saying at a meeting in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, that Kiev will receive large discounts on gas shipments in return for certainty over the base's future. Medvedev was quoted as saying that Russia was pledging a discount of $100 for every 1,000 cubic meters of gas _ as long as the benchmark rate is above $330. The reports said the base's lease would receive a 25-year extension. It was not clear whether the extension was effective immediately or upon the current lease's expiry, but state agency ITAR-Tass cited figures from an unidentified document as saying it was from 2017. Russia currently pays $90 million per year for the base. There was no word on any change under the new deal. -- SPA
