Ukraine and Russia should place the issue of withdrawal of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine on the agenda of bilateral relations, President Viktor Yushchenko said this at a news conference.
"The issue on launching the talks on withdrawal of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine should be put on the agenda," he stressed. Redeployment of the Russian fleet needs plenty of time, and thus we have to start negotiating the issue. "And we have to go the way fairly," the President underscored.
Yushchenko recalled that the Ukrainian Constitution clearly states that there should be no foreign military bases on the territory of the state. A decision on the basing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the Ukrainian territory during 20 years signed May 28, 1997, was exceptionally "a goodwill gesture of the Ukrainian state, the Ukrainian nation," he emphasized.
The President instructed the government to elaborate a draft law on termination from 2017 of operation of international treaties on temporary deployment on the Ukrainian territory of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already prepared the relevant draft law to be.
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