NATO To Discuss Security In Black Sea Region With Georgia, Ukraine - Chief

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that NATO's separate session with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba is planned on Wednesday and will focus on the security situation in the Black Sea region

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that NATO's separate session with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba is planned on Wednesday and will focus on the security situation in the Black Sea region.

On Monday, Stoltenberg held a virtual press conference at NATO Headquarters to brief the media ahead of the meeting of NATO ministers of foreign affairs planned for December 1-2.

"Russia is increasing its military presence, not least in Crimea, and that is the reason why we need to further strengthen our presence in the region and to also address this with our partners, Georgia and Ukraine, as we are going to do on Wednesday, when we meet the foreign ministers from these two partner countries," Stoltenberg said.

The secretary accused Russia of violating the Georgian and Ukrainian territorial integrity, adding that "the Black Sea region is of strategic importance for NATO and all NATO allies, and we are working closer with our two highly valued partners - Georgia and Ukraine."

In March 2014, Crimea rejoined Russia after over 90 percent of voters supported the move in the referendum. A number of countries, including Ukraine, have not recognized Crimea's reunification and consider the peninsula to be an occupied territory.

Diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia were severed in 2008, shortly after Moscow recognized the independence of Georgia's two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the recognition reflects existing realities and cannot be reconsidered.