SIMFEROPOL, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian presidential candidate and former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych has said the issue of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, based in Ukraine's Crimea, should not be politicized.
"Taking into consideration our international obligations, earlier undertaken by Ukraine, we must not politicize the issue and appear like an unreliable or unpredictable partner," Yanukovych, who is the leader of the opposition pro-Russian Party of Regions, said on Thursday.
Russia's Black Sea Fleet uses a range of naval facilities in Ukraine's Crimea, including a base in Sevastopol, as part of a 1997 lease agreement valid until 2017.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said "the existence of Russia's Black Sea Fleet has seriously destabilized Ukrainian-Russian relations."
Yushchenko has also led calls for Russia to prepare to withdraw its fleet from Ukraine's territory when the agreement expires in 2017. Russia hopes to extend the lease. Russian and Ukrainian deputy foreign ministers hold regular meetings to discuss the implementation of the 1997 agreement.
Yanukovych said the position of the Ukrainian authorities on the issue is the result of a negative attitude toward Russia.
"The current "orange" authorities have been demonstrating openly their enmity to Russia, which is our strategic ally... and have been searching for conflicts," Yanukovych said.
"[Foreign] policy has to be balanced and mutually beneficial," he added.
