CRIMEA : Armed for Talking
The presidents of Russia and Ukraine plan to meet Friday to review progress in eliminating nuclear weapons, dividing the disputed Black Sea Fleet and settling Ukraine’s debt for Russian oil and gas supplies.
Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid M. Kravchuk of Ukraine are to hold a day of talks in Crimea, a peninsula governed by Ukraine but claimed by Russian nationalists. It is the base of the 400-ship naval fleet that the two presidents have agreed to split.
Russia sharply reduced gas exports to Ukraine last week to press Ukrainian leaders to pay a $730-billion energy bill.
Yeltsin and Kravchuk will also try to decide how much Russia should pay for nuclear fuel being extracted from warheads that are being dismantled on Ukrainian soil.
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