The Kremlin worries about the future of its Black Sea fleet, should Ukraine get in.
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It has just agreed an extension of the Black Sea fleet's lease in Sebastopol, in Ukraine.
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The 30% discount on Russian gas Ukraine will enjoy following the Black Sea fleet deal will not reduce Naftogaz's hefty deficit.
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Its Black Sea fleet is not escorting Russian sanctions-busters into the Adriatic.
Mr Luzhkov has taken a tough line with Ukraine over the city of Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, claiming it as Russian property.
The climate and the lingering grandeur made the town a popular retirement choice for Soviet officers, especially those who had served with the Black Sea fleet.
The Kavkaz 2012 war games in which land and air forces, border guards and the Black Sea Fleet are participating are scheduled for Sep. 17-23, the week before Georgia's elections.
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There is particular concern about the role of Russia in the region, such as its recent extension of its use of the Crimean peninsular for its Black Sea fleet.
She also resisted Mr Yushchenko's attempts to impose restrictions on the Black Sea fleet, accusing him of populism ahead of a presidential election in 2010 that both will contest.
The Russian Rescue Service said 80 of its experts were working in the Black Sea along with 112 personnel from the Russian Navy's Black Sea fleet, who were focusing on the fuel cleanup.
The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine agreed not for the first time to divide up the Black Sea Fleet and settled terms for letting Russia keep its share in the Ukrainian port of Sebastopol.
It is worth noting that the landing craft in question, while they have not been named in any of the reporting, are very clearly not the landing craft from the Black Sea fleet that were at the center of the controversy in late June but totally different ships from the Northern Fleet.
If Russia was genuinely interested in providing some kind of naval assistance to its Syrian ally, or in conducting some sort of an evacuation, using ships from the Northern Fleet makes absolutely no sense: Russia has ships in the Black Sea that are much closer and that could be on station in a matter of days.
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