KIEV, January 25 (RIA Novosti) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov said Wednesday that all controversial issues concerning the Russian Black Sea Fleet, currently based on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, would be resolved in mid-February.
"I expect we'll have all Black Sea Fleet issues removed from [the agenda] in mid-February," Yekhanurov said at a news conference. "All the issues will be resolved and we'll make an adequate decision."
He said the controversies partially stemmed from the activity of Russian and Ukrainian companies in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
The joint Russian-Ukrainian Commission on the Black Sea Fleet will hold a special session in February to tackle the dispute.
A 1997 agreement divided the Soviet Black Sea Fleet between the two nations, but allowed the Russian navy to remain in Sevastopol for $93 million annually in rent.
Russia recently accused Ukraine of seizing a lighthouse on the country's Crimean coast, saying its Black Sea Fleet's hydrographic service had the rights to the structure. But officials in Kiev said all of Crimea's hydrographic facilities were Ukrainian property.
Another diplomatic spat occurred when Russia demanded that Ukraine pay European prices for its natural gas imports. In response, some Ukrainian politicians suggested that the Russian Black Sea Fleet's rent be raised.
