NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is convinced that the NATO bloc should strengthen its position in the Black Sea region in connection with the enhancement of Russia's military presence in the annexed Crimea. This was announced by Stoltenberg during a press conference in Brussels on Monday, November 30, Deutsche Welle reports.
"We see that Russia is increasing its military presence (in the Black Sea region. - 112 International.), not least in Crimea. This is the reason why we must continue to increase our presence in the region," he said.
The official also stressed that the Black Sea region was strategically important to NATO and all its allies. In this regard, the alliance will strengthen cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia.
"We see that Russia continues to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty of these two countries, in particular, through the illegal annexation of Crimea and the presence of Russian troops in parts of Georgia," Stoltenberg emphasized.
As we reported earlier, in June 2020, Ukraine was granted membership in NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Program.
