US secretary: Black Sea region vital for NATO, in this part alliance has close partners Ukraine, Georgia
In the joint press conference with the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, Blinken said NATO would reinforce its presence from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea, stressing the Black Sea region has been a critical component of the alliance’s defence strategy. Photo: Reuters
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The Black Sea region is of vital strategic importance for NATO and in this part, it has close partners such as Ukraine and Georgia, along with member state allies Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye, the United States secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Tuesday at a press conference.
In the joint press conference with the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, Blinken said NATO would reinforce its presence from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea, stressing the Black Sea region has been a critical component of the alliance’s defence strategy.
The state secretary noted that Russian forces had been attacking Ukrainian towns and villages, blocking the country’s ports, and causing a food crisis, and highlighted the United Nations and Türkiye’s role in maintaining food traffic in the Black Sea corridor, as well as Romania’s crucial role in the issue.
Mircea Geoană, the deputy secretary general of NATO, on Tuesday said if both the bloc on the one side, and Ukraine and Georgia on the other, were “ready” for their membership of the alliance, the countries would be “by our side”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said the alliance would “step up” its support for Ukraine and other partners “facing Russian pressure”, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova.
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said Georgia was a “highly valued” partner of the alliance.
Irakli Beraia, the head of the Georgian parliament’s defence and security committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said his country remained among the priorities of NATO and was “important” to the alliance.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, NATO foreign ministers reaffirmed their 2008 Bucharest Summit and "all subsequent" decisions on welcoming Georgia's and Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Romanian, Latvian and Slovenian foreign ministers pledged their support for Georgia’s NATO integration at the ongoing meeting of the alliance’s FMs in Bucharest on Tuesday.
Victor Dolidze, the head of the Georgian mission to NATO, on Wednesday said it was “symbolic” the alliance’s ministerial in Bucharest this week “once again” stressed Georgia and Ukraine would “definitely” join the bloc, 14 years after the pledge was first made at a NATO summit in the city.
The United States will use “all tools” to “one day” make Russia meet the conditions of the 2008 ceasefire agreement and respect Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Michael Carpenter, the US Ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, told the Georgian Public Broadcaster on Friday.