Ukraine and Russia have concluded an agreement as for extension of the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's lease on its Sevastopol base (Ukraine) by 25 years.

President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev announced this at a press conference in Kharkiv.
President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and Medvedev have concluded the relevant agreement.
According to Medvedev, this contract also permits the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's lease on the Sevastopol base to be extended further by five-year periods.

As it was earlier reported, Ukraine and Russia concluded an agreement on the issue of the presence of Russia's Black Sea naval fleet in Ukraine on April 21.

As a presidential candidate, Yanukovych noted that the agreement on lease of the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's base in the Crimea could be extended after 2017 if the lease rate was increased.

These two neighbour countries signed the intergovernmental agreement under which the Russian Black Sea Naval Fleet is stationed on Ukrainian territory on May 28, 1997.

Under the contract, Russia leased the base of its Black Sea Naval Fleet in Sevastopol for 20 years - until 2017. It annually writes off USD 98 million out of Ukraine's national debt to it as payment for the lease of the naval base.