KIEV, Ukraine (AP) – The presidents of Ukraine and Russia agreed on Wednesday to extend the stay of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol after the existing lease expires in 2017, news agencies reported.

The move is among the first concrete signs of the significant warming of relations between Moscow and Kiev since pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych took power in Ukraine in February.
Yanukovych had said he would extend Russia's lease on the base in the Ukrainian port. His predecessor, the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko, had fought to kick the fleet out, calling it a hostile presence in Ukraine.
The Russian and Ukrainian news agencies quoted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as saying at a meeting in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, that Kiev will receive large discounts on gas shipments in return for certainty over the base's future.
Medvedev was quoted as saying that Russia was pledging a discount of $100 for every 1,000 cubic meters of gas — as long as the benchmark rate is above $330.
The reports said the base's lease would receive a 25-year extension. It was not clear whether the extension was effective immediately or upon the current lease's expiry, but state agency ITAR-Tass cited figures from an unidentified document as saying it was from 2017.
Russia currently pays $90 million per year for the base. There was no word on any change under the new deal.
Analysts warned when Yanykovuch took power in February that committing the country to a Russian military presence beyond 2017 could pit half the country against him. Ukraine's split between the Russian-speaking east and Ukrainian-speaking west also is predominantly a political division, and leaders have always been forced to play a delicate balancing act for fear of upsetting either camp.
Russian gas company Gazprom said in a statement Wednesday that it has lifted all penalties for the failure to buy as much gas as contracted.
Ukraine has been hit by the global downturn harder than many other European countries, and it has been anxious for discounts for Russian gas.
Russian authorities earlier said that they would be willing to cut prices if Ukraine has something to offer in return.
Russia carries most of the gas it exports to Europe through Ukraine, and recent gas disputes with Ukraine which threatened gas supply to Europe made Russia even more determined to seek alternative routes.
Military analyst Mykola Singurovskiy of the Kiev-based Razumkov think-tank said the base agreement violates the Ukrainian constitution.
Photo:
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) speaks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (R) during their meeting on April 21, 2010 in Khariv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)
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