KIEV, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - The deployment of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea should be based on market principles, a Ukrainian foreign ministry official said Tuesday.

Volodymyr Ohryzko, a Ukrainian deputy foreign minister, said: "The location of the deployment of the Black Sea Fleet should be determined legally."

The Russian fleet is using a range of naval facilities in the Crimea under a 1997 agreement that divided the Soviet Black Sea Fleet but allowed Russia to continue its presence in the Ukrainian autonomy in exchange for $93 million in annual rent.

Last week, Anatoliy Kinakh, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said his country intended to raise the rent for the Black Sea ports and facilities used by the Russian fleet from the current $93 million to a market-based figure that could run up to $1.8 billion.

Anatoliy Hrytsenko, the Ukrainian defense minister, said it was necessary to begin preparations for the withdrawal of the Russian fleet scheduled for 2017.

"Today it is necessary to start making plans and to talk about preparations for the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet from the Ukrainian territory on the date determined by existing agreements," the minister said. "In order to withdraw the fleet in 2017, it is necessary to allocate money and prepare bases, and that will be the dimension for the talks with our Russian colleagues."

The minister added that the deployment of the Russian fleet on Ukrainian territory should be maximally comfortable so that it could fulfill its duties.