Published Date:
15 August 2008
By Margaret Neighbour
A SENIOR Russian general is calling Ukraine's order restricting Russia's navy from moving freely in Ukrainian waters "nonsense".
Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko has issued a decree requiring Russia to request permission to bring its ships back to the base that Moscow leases from Kiev.
The pro-western president's order is seen as a strong show of support for Georgia as both countries seek to break free of Moscow's influence. But the deputy chief of Russia's general staff yesterday dismissed the decree and signalled that Russia's Black Sea fleet would ignore it.
Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said the order requiring Russia to submit a request ten days before ships return to the Crimean base was illegitimate and violated previous agreements.
The Black Sea fleet has been deployed to the Georgian coast as part of the military action against Georgia. Ukraine tightened restrictions on Russian warships sailing from its port of Sevastopol on Wednesday, requiring them to give 72 hours' notice before undertaking any movements, in what was described by Russia as "another blow" to already difficult relations.
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Last Updated:
14 August 2008 9:55 PM
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Source:
The Scotsman
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Location:
Edinburgh
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Related Topics:
Georgia
