NATO
April 13, 2023

NATO Deputy Secretary General: the Black Sea region is important for Euro-Atlantic security

In an address to the Black Sea Security Conference of the International Crimea Platform in Bucharest on Thursday (13 April 2023), Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană underlined the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security. He highlighted NATO’s enhanced presence in the region, and the Alliance’s unprecedented support to Ukraine, as well as other partners at risk of Russian aggression, including Bosnia and Herzegovina [?], Georgia and the Republic of Moldova.

….Mr Geoană spoke alongside the Defence and Foreign Ministers of Romania, the Defence Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, as well as the Foreign Minister of Moldova.

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Interfax-Ukraine
April 13, 2023

Ukrainian FM: It’s time to turn Black Sea into what Baltic Sea has become – NATO Sea

The time has come to turn the Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become – the NATO Sea, at the upcoming Alliance summit in Vilnius it is necessary to take decisive steps towards Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

“It’s time to turn the Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become. The NATO Sea. This war proved that the security of the region is indivisible…,” Kuleba said at the First Black Sea Security Conference of the International Crimea Platform in Bucharest.

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He also noted that the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius is “the right time to correct the mistakes of the past and take decisive steps towards Ukraine’s membership in NATO.”

“To show that the door is not only open, but there is a clear plan for when and how Ukraine will enter it,” Kuleba said.

The minister also added that it makes sense for Ukraine to become part of the European Defense Initiative, and he has already raised this issue in a conversation with head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell recently.

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Ukrinform
April 13, 2023

Ukraine promotes in Bucharest idea of permanent patrolling of Black Sea by NATO countries

Ukraine believes that there should be a permanent presence of NATO countries in the Black Sea basin for joint patrolling or demining.

This was stated by First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheparova….

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“Our call is to work together to develop [a] strategic vision. The second is regional cooperation not only among the Black Sea countries. We are currently thinking about the modality of such cooperation. It is clear that in times of war it may be limited. But we believe that there should be a permanent presence of NATO countries in the Black Sea basin. It could be a joint patrol, it could be mine clearance as a joint task in the Black Sea waters,” Dzheparova said.

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…Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the opening of the Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest that the Black Sea should become what the Baltic Sea has become – a NATO sea….