The Russian Navy commander said on Friday the Black Sea Fleet could increase the number of warships at its base in Sevastopol, in Ukraine`s Crimea, to 100, according to RIA Novosti.
"The base agreement enables us to have up to 100 warships in the Black Sea Fleet, compared to the current figure of only 35; we may also have up to 25,000 personnel, while currently we only have 11,000," Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky told reporters in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
He said Russia needs the Black Sea Fleet to protect its national interests.
"Russia has strategic interests in the world`s oceans, and it will defend them. We will be enlarging our presence."
"The Black Sea Fleet will remain in any event. And it will not simply remain, but will develop," he said, adding that Russia does not intend to withdraw its fleet from Sevastopol before the base agreement expires in 2017.
The Black Sea Fleet currently uses a range of naval facilities on the Crimean peninsula under an agreement signed in 1997.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko recently ruled not to extend the lease for Russia`s Black Sea Fleet beyond May 28, 2017.
