The
Black Sea region links Europe to the Caspian area, the Middle East and Central
Asia and is NATO’s southeastern flank. As such, it is a key region for NATO.
The situation here is complex, given that the Black Sea region is facing security
and stability challenges. One of the most important conflicts with significant
impact on the entire region is the one pitting Russia against Ukraine. The conflict
broke out in 2014, with the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the
Russian Federation.
On the other hand, the situation in Transnistria, a
Russian-speaking breakaway region east of the Moldova, remains tense. Moldova lost control of Transnistria in the
wake of a civil war where the Russian Army backed the separatists. Georgia, in
turn, lost control of Abkhazia. The separatist region proclaimed its independence
in 1992, also after a civil war, with support from the Russian military.
Another territory in Georgia, South Ossetia, in turn proclaimed its
independence in 2008, after the Russian army intervened on the side of the
separatists. On a visit to Washington to consolidate security cooperation with
the United States,
Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, expressed
Romania’s position with respect to the Black Sea region. The Romanian official
warned, during a public talk at NATO, against frozen conflicts, saying Romania
has been arguing in favor of consolidating NATO security on the Black Sea for
the last two decades. All that happens in the Black Sea does not remain in the
Black Sea, it has a major impact on transatlantic relations in general, Bogdan
Aurescu argues. The Minister pointed out that, historically, the region has always
been at the crossroads of several interests intertwining – imperial aspirations,
conflicting ideologies, competing trade interests, being a bridge between Asia
and Europe. In the last three decades, the Black Sea has been an area of
conflict, and this trend remains, unfortunately, if we look at what
happened this year, for example, in April, when we witnessed the massive
deployment of Russian forces, perhaps the largest such deployment since the
Cold War, in the region, with a lot of equipment left there, the Romanian
official said. Bogdan Aurescu said this is a factor of concern which requires
everyone’s attention, not just countries in the region.
The Romanian Minister
for Foreign Affairs believes that the US military presence in the region, in
terms of both numbers and equipment, must be increased not just in Romania, but
on the southern part of NATO’s eastern flank, where the military presence is
more fragile compared to the north. (VP)