Experts say that the confrontation between Russia and the West is reaching a climax. Therefore, the three coalition countries — Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova — have announced that their goal is to strengthen cooperation to enhance security in the Black Sea region.
“If the Black Sea countries and NATO member states as well as Ukraine, Georgia-and Moldova can also find a place in the mechanism-do not cooperate, Russia will turn the Black Sea into its inner lake, divide it into two halves, and begin to fully control its region. ,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said after the leaders of the three related countries met in Batumi on Monday (July 19).
Kuleba added that Russia has followed similar strategic playbooks in all three countries, which is why they should work together to counter Moscow’s intentions in the region.
He made the above remarks when 2,000 troops and 30 ships from 14 NATO member states and partners participated in a maritime exercise led by Bulgaria. The exercise was called “Sea Breeze 2021”, which took place in the Black Sea on Monday. Held.
The exercise was carried out after the tension between NATO and Russia intensified. Fire warning And dropped a bomb on the path of the British destroyer HMS defender Drive it out of the Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea.
Unlike Western countries, Russia has always advocated political and military sovereignty in the Black Sea region and regards the annexed Crimean territorial waters as its own territorial waters.
Moscow is also worried that if NATO increases its presence in the region, most of Russia and Europe will face the threat of Western sea-based and land-based medium-range missiles.
The incident last month was the first time Russia deliberately used force against NATO assets since the end of the Cold War.
“The Black Sea is of strategic importance to NATO. The alliance remains firmly committed to the security of the Black Sea,” said Pierce Cazalet, NATO’s deputy spokesperson.
Since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, NATO has gradually increased its presence in the Black Sea. NATO ships regularly operate in the Black Sea, patrolling the waters about two-thirds of the time each year.
However, according to the Montreux Treaty, which stipulates that ships can pass freely in the waters, ships from non-neighboring countries are allowed to stay in the Black Sea for a maximum of 21 days.
Therefore, NATO’s maritime exercises are aimed at sending a clear signal to Moscow against Russia’s claims on Crimea or its hegemonic attempt in the Black Sea region.
“We need to seriously consider what NATO’s role in the Black Sea is, especially when we see Russia’s recent provocative actions,” said Philip Bridlov (SACEUR), former supreme commander of allied forces in Europe at the NATO Allied Command. Philip Breedlove) told reporters. The audience in Batumi.
Bridlov said The goal of the alliance is to update Its ten-year-old strategic concept is an overall strategic document. After the revision, it will outline NATO’s goals and key security tasks, focusing on 2030, which is a positive development in this context.
“NATO is pretty weak about what Russia is doing in the Black Sea region. This is bad news. The good news is that you will see these attitudes changing,” he said, adding that, especially the US-led’Freedom of Navigation’ exercise. And other exercises have proved this.
Security experts worry that the range of the Russian S-400 air defense system stationed in Crimea makes not only southern Ukraine but also the Romanian coast vulnerable.
“As our current military contacts are beginning to decrease, we need to formulate the next series of lasting military contacts between the United States between Georgia and between NATO and Georgia (…) and what is the next step for our military contacts to cooperate with Ukraine It is to help it be more capable of self-defense,” the former NATO general said.
Bridlov said that alliance members such as Turkey and Romania have recently stepped up to bring more military capabilities to the region, which may lead the implementation of this new strategy.
However, among Russia’s Black Sea neighbors, only the Turkish Navy can fight against Russia. The Ukrainian navy lost most of its ships after the annexation of Crimea, Georgia restricted its navy to the Coast Guard for economic reasons, and Romania, especially Bulgaria, has so far been unable to provide a deterrent to Russia.
Conversely, when talking about the European Union and NATO’s approach to the Black Sea region, Bruno Lété, a senior security and defense researcher at the German Marshall Foundation (GMFUS) in Brussels, said that he “is most concerned about the internal affairs of each country.” Unification. Europeans and NATO” in this regard.
According to him, “The EU institutions in Brussels finally understand that the Black Sea is a priority area more important than ever.”
“However, we still see-and we have to be frank-when it comes to the importance of the Black Sea as a region where we need to work harder and stay alive, not all EU countries think so,” Wright said.
Eastern European countries, especially under the framework of the “Three Seas Initiative” led by the United States, have been working hard for a long time to prevent the Black Sea from becoming a “geopolitical black hole.” One idea is to extend the initiative to non-EU member states such as Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.
However, according to Laitai, this does not mean that there should be a military solution.
“The strategy here should be more about avoiding incidents and risk management while performing deterrence. I think these are the two pillars of how the Black Sea region should resolve security issues,” Wright added.
[Edited by Georgi Gotev]
