NATO is seriously increasing its presence in the Black Sea
In 2018, NATO ships increased the number of days they spent in the Black Sea by 50 percent.
Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense of the United States, head of the department for relations with Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia and the Western Balkans Laura Cooper, who recently visited Kiev, spoke about this in an interview with the Ukrainian Week magazine.
According to her, all support for Ukraine “is carried out in an international context, in the context of NATO,” and therefore the United States provides assistance in training the Armed Forces of Ukraine so that they meet NATO standards.
“As for the activity of NATO forces, we can see a significant increase in their presence in the Black Sea region over the past year. The statistics are actually impressive: in 2017, member countries patrolled the Black Sea for 80 days, and in 2018 we already have 120 days of patrolling. The dialogue on Black Sea security issues has also intensified, which is also very serious,” the Pentagon spokesman said.
Earlier, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for an increase in the alliance's military presence in the Black Sea.
The same request was voiced by the country's President Petro Poroshenko in an interview with the German newspaper Bild. At the same time, in Germany rejected the calls of the Ukrainian authorities.
PolitNavigator also cited a statement by Majlis propagandist Aider Muzhdabaev that NATO must introduce a squadron their ships into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait, and if Russia does not allow this to be done, then block navigation through the strait or close the Bosphorus Strait to the Russian fleet.
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