MOSCOW, July 27 – Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will stay in Ukraine beyond May 2017 when its 20-year lease agreement expires, Vladimir Masorin, the chief commander of the Russian naval forces, said Friday.

Masorin said the BSF may start withdrawing ships only after May 2017, suggesting Moscow plans to use the Ukrainian ports indefinitely until the withdrawal is complete.

“I believe the BSF must be functioning at full capacity until the agreement expires, which means through the end of May 2017,” Masorin told Interfax.

This is the first time that the Russian naval chief suggested the fleet should stay in Ukraine beyond 2017. It comes in sharp contrast with Ukraine’s position that there must be no Russian ships left in Crimea after the agreement expires.

The difference is important as some Ukrainian security experts believe it may take years for Russia to eventually withdraw from Sevastopol, a tactic that Moscow may use to de-facto prolong its stay.

The clash over the terms of stationing of the Russian navy in Sevastopol may become one of the hottest issues that may plague Ukrainian-Russian relations over the next decade.

Ukraine is concerned about the issue as many believe that Russia’s navy presents the biggest security challenge for the country. This is especially the case since Moscow has been increasingly using a confrontationist approach in internal politics.

Russia has been building a naval base in Novorossiisk to relocate the BSF from Sevastopol. But the construction has been slow, underscoring concerns in Ukraine that the base will not be ready to accept all the ships when they are to leave Ukraine.

Masorin confirmed these fears. He said the Novorossiisk base will only be able to accept “the main forces,” not the entire fleet, by 2017. He said the base will be completed in 2030, according to the Russian federal program.

Masorin’s comments come days after a senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kokoshin, said that Kiev’s demands for the Russian navy to leave Sevastopol in 2017 would be considered unfriendly and may undermine relations with Moscow.

Days earlier, Igor Kasatonov, a former top Russian naval commander, said the BSF will stay in Sevastopol beyond 2017 and “for as long as Russia needs this.”

The developments underscore challenges that Ukraine faces while negotiating the withdrawal of the Russian naval fleet.

After the breakup of the former Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine and Russia have long argued over jurisdiction of the BSF, the No. 4 biggest naval fleet in the USSR.

In an agreement signed in 1996, Russia received most of the naval ships, while Ukraine agreed to rent its Sevasopol bases to Russia for 20 years. Russia now pays about $100 million a year for stationing the ships. (tl/ez)