Ukraine allows Russian fleet to stay 20 years

The Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, said Ukraine agreed yesterday to allow Russia to keep its share of the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet at Ukraine's naval base of Sevastopol for the next 20 years.

Mr Chernomyrdin and the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Pavlo Lazarenko, signed terms of a lease for part of the base. Mr Chernomyrdin gave no details of how much Moscow will pay for the lease. Kiev - Reuters