Speaking in Sofia on Friday (April 22nd) NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow stressed the importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security.
Mr. Vershbow addressed the current strategic landscape and what NATO is doing to respond. Referring to NATO’s response to the threats in the South, the Deputy Secretary General said that NATO is stepping up efforts to “project stability” across the region as a whole by expanding the Alliance’s efforts to build greater defence capacity.
“We have already implemented a series of assurance measures for our eastern Allies, which also have an important deterrence effect”, he said. “These include AWACS surveillance flights, and the intensification of NATO maritime patrols in the Black Sea itself. And as part of the European Reassurance Initiative, the US plans to expand its exercises and training with NATO Allies and partners, and to augment prepositioned equipment – including in both Bulgaria and Romania,” – the Deputy Secretary General added.
