1 month ago
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The U.S. Secretary of State assured friends bordering nan Black Sea connected Monday that they could dangle connected his country's support to make nan region much secure, prosperous and integrated.
Addressing nan attendees of nan Second Black Sea Security Conference successful nan Bulgarian capital, Sofia, via a video feed, Antony Blinken underscored nan value of investing successful nan region’s information to guarantee bid and state crossed Europe.
BLINKEN SAYS UKRAINE WILL EVENTUALLY 'BECOME A MEMBER OF NATO'
Russia illegally annexed nan Crimean Peninsula — connected nan bluish seashore of nan Black Sea — successful 2014. It has served arsenic a cardinal hub supporting nan Russian penetration of Ukraine which President Vladimir Putin ordered successful Feb. 2022.
"Putin believed that Ukraine’s neighbors successful nan region would beryllium divided, but he was wrong," Blinken said, adding that "the United States will proceed to support Ukraine some truthful it tin take sides itself coming and guidelines connected its feet."
The U.S. Secretary of State has assured friends bordering nan Black Sea they tin dangle connected his country's support to make nan region much secure, prosperous and integrated. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP)
His Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, said his state needed basal subject support, including artillery, ammunition, and aerial defense systems to bolster its capacity successful nan look of nan Kremlin’s full-scale invasion.
Kuleba, besides speaking via video, said expanding nan capabilities of nan Ukrainian aerial defense will besides fortify location and world stability, arsenic it successful move protects nan information of Ukraine’s neighbors and nan full Black Sea region from Russian aerial terror.
"Today, there’s nary different connection Moscow understands amended than nan connection of force. This is what they respect, thing other is seen arsenic a weakness," nan Ukrainian overseas curate said.
Kubela besides said nan Black Sea must go "the oversea of NATO, of bid and stability," calling connected nan confederation to instrumentality "a broad and eager Black Sea strategy aimed astatine reducing Russia’s malign influence."
NATO marked its 75th anniversary earlier this period while weighing a scheme to supply much predictable longer-term subject support to Ukraine.
The Kremlin wants Kyiv to admit Russia’s sovereignty complete Crimea and admit nan annexation of nan Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine has adamantly refused.
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The convention is co-organized by nan Bulgarian and Ukrainian overseas and defense ministries successful business pinch Ukraine’s Centre for Defence Strategies and intends astatine strengthening information successful nan Black Sea region.
Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine separator nan Black Sea.
