| Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet | |
|---|---|
| Signed | 28 May 1997; 27 years ago (1997-05-28) |
| Effective | 12 July 1999; 24 years ago (1999-07-12) |
| Expiration | 28 March 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03-28) |
| Signatories | |
| Languages | Russian, Ukrainian[1] |
| Full text | |
 Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea FleetatWikisource | |
The Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet consists of three bilateral agreements[2] between Russia and Ukraine signed on 28 May 1997 whereby the two countries established two independent national fleets, divided armaments and bases between them,[3][4] and set forth conditions for basing of the Russian Black Sea FleetinCrimea. The treaty was supplemented by provisions in the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty, which was signed three days later. Russia unilaterally terminated the Partition Treaty in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
During the 1990s, the dispute over control of the Black Sea Fleet and Crimean naval facilities were source of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On 10 June 1995, an interim agreement was signed,[5] however, two additional years were needed to resolve remaining issues.
Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov campaigned to claim the city of Sevastopol which housed the fleet, and in December 1996 the Russian Federation Council officially endorsed the claim.[6] Spurred by these territorial claims, Ukraine proposed a "special partnership" with NATO in January 1997.[6]
Under the terms of the agreements:
A fourth agreement, the Kharkiv Pact, was signed on 21 April 2010 and extended the lease until 2042 (with possibility of renewal for an additional five years) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas.[9]
On 28 March 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted proposals to the State Duma on terminating a number of Russia–Ukraine agreements, including the Black Sea Fleet partition treaty and the Kharkiv Pact.[10] The State Duma approved the abrogation of these Russian-Ukrainian agreements unanimously by 433 members of parliament on 31 March 2014.[11]
Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet
