Dominic Fean
Junior Research Fellow, Russia/NIS Centre, Ifri
Friends. Russian Lessons. Work. Course Materials. Energy Issues. Yanukovych policies. The Future of the Sevastopol Russian Navy Base « Russian Militar. The following article recently appeared in the Russian Analytical Digest.[1] Some of the research for this article was carried out under the auspices of CNA Strategic Studies.
The recent election of Victor Yanukovich as president of Ukraine has brought the future status of Russia’s naval base in Sevastopol back to the forefront of Russian-Ukrainian bilateral relations. When Victor Yushchenko was president, it was clear that the Ukrainian government would firmly oppose any possibility for extending the basing agreement. While many Russian analysts believe that the election of Yanukovich means that the likelihood that the lease will be renewed is substantially higher, the calculus is potentially more complicated, with constitutional, political and economic issues all standing in the way of a renewal.
UPDATE 1-Ukraine court rules Yanukovich coalition legal.