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Kiev presses for inventory of Russian Black Sea Fleet properties

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Kiev said Thursday no changes in the rent paid by Russia for the Soviet-era Black Sea naval base in Ukraine could be expected before an inventory has been completed.

MOSCOW, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev said Thursday no changes in the rent paid by Russia for the Soviet-era Black Sea naval base in Ukraine could be expected before an inventory has been completed.

Following a bitter row with Russia over natural gas supplies early this year, Ukrainian officials demanded in February that the Russian fleet pay at least $1.8 billion a year against the current $93 million, for lease of Ukrainian land and facilities.

"Today neither Ukraine nor Russia know which [facilities] belong to the Russian side," Volodymyr Ohryzko, Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister, said after bilateral negotiations on the subject. "Dialogue will be purely theoretical until complete inventory is conducted."

Ukrainian authorities said earlier a preliminary inventory had shown that many rented facilities had not been included in the 1997 rent agreements, and demanded an additional agreement. Russian officials said the country would make no concessions over rent or the withdrawal of the fleet from Ukraine, which is scheduled for 2017.

Commenting on a possible rent hike for Russia, Ohryzko said, "If we are switching to market relations, they should relate to all aspects of our interaction."

Early this year, Russia demanded Ukraine pay the market price for its natural gas imports, representing a fourfold increase on the price paid to Russia in the post-Soviet years..

A Russian-Ukrainian subcommittee met Thursday to discuss the inventory procedures.

"The issue is simple - Russia is renting Ukrainian properties and territory. We propose that in order to resolve claims and suspicions, a precise inventory procedure should be carried out: All land plots and objects leased to the Black Sea fleet should be accounted for," Ohryzko said.

Ukraine believes that Russia is illegally holding more than 150 hectares, a claim disputed by Russia.

"We want practical implementation and swift work, so that all issues can be resolved as fast as possible, but for this there needs to be willingness from the Russian side, and we are counting on this willingness," Ohryzko said.

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