MOSCOW, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - Experts from Russia and Ukraine are meeting Thursday to discuss a Russian naval base in Ukraine, with Russia praising progress in tackling the problem and Ukraine urging clearer base agreements.
Opening the meeting of a bilateral sub-commission on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said: "We have managed to bring our dialogue on outstanding problems from an emotional to an expert level, which is the most important thing. This is a guarantee that we will achieve the desired results."
But his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Ohryzko, urged a more intensive dialogue on his country's demands that the treaty on the Russian naval base's presence on the Crimean peninsula be made more transparent.
"Our objective is to clear up what was signed in 1997, ensure strict observance of that treaty, and resolve persisting problems," Ohryzko said, adding that Ukraine looked to a "constructive dialogue" with Russia.
Russia's Black Sea Fleet currently uses a range of naval facilities in the Crimea under a 1997 agreement that allowed Russia to continue its presence in its neighboring former Soviet republic for rent of $93 million per year.
Following a bitter row with Russia over natural gas supplies early this year, Ukrainian officials demanded in February that the Russian fleet should be paying at least $1.8 billion a year, citing the size of the rented area and modern standards. They also said a preliminary inventory showed that many rented facilities had not been included in the 1997 agreements, and demanded that an additional agreement should be signed.
Russian officials said the country would make no concessions over rent or the withdrawal of the fleet from Ukraine, which is scheduled for 2017.
Karasin said five groups of experts had been working to resolve the dispute.
