RUSSIA, VIETNAM PRESIDENTS DID NOT DISCUSS RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE








HANOI, MARCH 1, 2001. /RIA NOVOSTI'S SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MARIANNA SHATIKHINA/ -- The question of the Russian military base in Cam Ranh in Vietnam was not in discussion "on the practical plane" during the negotiations on Thursday between the Russian and Vietnamese presidents, reported Russian Vice-Premier Victor Khristenko. The issue was only "mentioned" at these talks, he said. 


	Khristenko recalled that Russia and Vietnam are linked by the 1979 agreement, effective until 2004, which "reflects the utilisation" terms of this base. Today the base is in service gratis and Russia only pays the electricity and other communal charges. 


	Victor Khristenko said that in 1999, after the visit to Moscow by the Vietnamese prime minister, a working group was set up to "ensure working contacts" on all issues related to the Russian military base. The vice-premier reiterated that this problem "holds no priority" in the Russian-Vietnamese relations.