Neighbors Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova signed cooperation agreements in Romania’s capital Thursday after a trilateral meeting on ways to strengthen security in their Black Sea region to counter threats posed by Russian aggression.
The Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest brought together the three countries’ foreign and defense ministers, government officials and international partners. The aim was to address the wide-ranging impact that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is having on the region.
NATO member Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu called Russia “the most direct and serious threat” to the Black Sea region and the Western alliance, and said war-torn Ukraine and embattled Moldova are “essential to our future European security.”
“Instead of peace and stability, the Black Sea region has become the primary target of the Russian aggression,” he said, adding that a strong NATO presence there “is a must.”
