MOSCOW -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin turned up on a Black Sea warship Tuesday, a day after suddenly canceling all meetings and vanishing from the Kremlin, but his reappearance only added to the mystery surrounding his activities.
'The Russian Federation president is visiting the Black Sea fleet,' spokesman Pavel Voshchanov said in a brief statement.
But Voshchanov did not explain why Yeltsin scrubbed his entire schedule for two days, why he slipped out of the capital for a rendezvous with military leaders at a Black Sea port, and why his whereabouts were kept secret after his absence from the Kremlin became known.
'At present Yeltsin is aboard the Moskva cruiser,' Voshchanov said. 'He is getting acquainted with its technical equipment, holding talks with its personnel.'
Three top military officials accompanied Yeltsin, who has been embroiled in a dispute with Ukraine over control of the 350-ship Black Sea fleet.
Russian government spokesmen and the semi-official Russian Information Agency offered contradictory statements Monday about whether Yeltsin was in Moscow, at a government house just outside the capital or elsewhere.
Yeltsin turned up in Novorossiisk, a Black Sea port city of 179,000 people more than 900 miles south of Moscow. He was accompanied by Commonwealth of Independent States Defense Minister Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, Voshchanov said.
Yeltsin also met with the C.I.S. navy commander, Adm. Vladimir Chernavin, and the commander of the Black Sea fleet, Adm. Igor Kasatonov, according to the independent news agency Interfax, which described the Moskva as an anti-submarine ship. Interfax reported that military maneuvers were under way.
The president's disappearance Monday gave rise to rumors about his health, but his reappearance in Novorossiisk and on the Moskva fueled speculation that Russia was eyeing the city for a new Black Sea base. The fleet now uses Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, which is part of Ukraine. Novorossiisk is Russian.
The Russian Parliament said last week that it wanted to examine the legality of the 1954 transfer of the Crimea from Russia to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev.
Novorossiisk administrator Georgy Khobotov denied that Russia was about to move the Black Sea fleet to his city as a base.
Although Ukraine and Russia worked out a conceptual agreement to divide the fleet, they have yet to determine who should get what, though Ukraine has apparently agreed to make no claims on any nuclear forces.
However, speaking Tuesday in Parliament, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk complained that the agreement on the Black Sea fleet was not being carried out and that the Russians appeared more interested in confrontation.
Voshchanov's statement also said Yeltsin's visit was all part of preparations for his trip abroad, scheduled to start Thursday and take him to the United Nations and to meetings with President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and British Prime Minister John Major in talks that were to touch on security of the former Soviet nuclear arsenal, which still troubles the West.
Various officials Monday characterized Yeltsin's departure as being required by 'urgent business,' 'unforeseen circumstances,' but also included preparations for his coming trip.
Yeltsin canceled a Monday meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe, canceled a television interview with the BritishBroadcasting Corp. and disappointed those who expected him to address the opening of the Middle East peace talks.
However, Yeltsin was scheduling appointments for Wednesday in Moscow, including a meeting with Secretary of State James Baker.
