18 Jan 2011 13:50

Finance ministries of Russia, Ukraine to prepare agreement on conditions of extension Black Sea Fleet presence in Sevastopol

MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - The Finance Ministries of Russia and Ukraine in the next two months will prepare an agreement to fulfill the agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine in April 2010 on the extension of the presence of the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Fyodor Yaroshenko.

"In the new agreement, we have to determine the procedures for calculating the discount for the price on gas as a source of payments for the lease of the [Black Sea Fleet] base after 2017," Kudrin said.

The specific parameters have not been determined yet because they will depend "on the amount of gas supply and the actual prices, which will determine the amount of the discount," Kudrin said. He recalled that the April agreement outlines the conditions for determining such discounts with the price of gas over $336 per 1,000 cubic meters and less.

Yaroshenko, in turn, said: "It's important to us that we understand each other, it's important to determine the unified methodology, which will be implemented in real life, and we have agreed that the steps will be quick."

The meeting participants also signed a memorandum of cooperation between the Finance Ministries of Russia and Ukraine. According to Kudrin, this memorandum outlines the possibilities of information exchange, including interaction in the sphere of assistance "in the best progressive practices of budget and tax system formation."

The meeting also addressed the new tendencies in the budget policies and the reforms taking place in Russia and Ukraine.