NATO allies and partners are working to ensure the stability of the region

Rising tensions in the Black Sea herald conflict between the West and Russia

• Putin expresses concern about the maneuvers in the Black Sea.

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• The Russian guided missile ship "Moscow" is on patrol in the Black Sea.

  Reuters

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A report by the American think tank, the Atlantic Council, predicted, at the beginning of this year, the possibility that the Black Sea in the future will be the major battleground for energy in the world.

The report pointed out that in recent years, the Black Sea has been considered the maritime frontline in the escalating tensions between the West and Russia, and this has led to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) rushing to develop a multi-level approach, which has helped tangible improvement in regional security.

A report by the European Council on Foreign Relations also stated that Russia's ability to carry out large-scale military operations against the Black Sea countries allows it to pressure and blackmail them.

Reducing the possibility of such operations taking place is the first step towards preventing them from taking place, because Moscow very carefully assesses their dangers.

The report stressed that Western countries should increase the ability of their armies to cooperate in operations with the armed forces of the Black Sea countries, and improve the infrastructure they use to send their reinforcements in the region.

The developments that the Black Sea is witnessing at the present time between Russia, the United States and "NATO" could escalate and turn into a conflict with unwelcome consequences, which the two sides are trying to avoid.

Worry

The American researcher on national security issues, Mark Episkopos, said in a report published by the American magazine "National Interest", that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is concerned about the military activity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at sea. the black.

Peskov told reporters that the matter was very worrying for the Russian president, and that he had talked about it, adding that the US and Russian military were engaged in serious discussions to disengage in order to prevent the outbreak of a regional conflict.

Episkopos added that it was reported that Putin raised these concerns during a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and in a Kremlin press statement, regarding this conversation, "the dangerous and destabilizing nature of the provocative activity of the United States and a number of NATO countries in the Black Sea was noted," stressing What Moscow describes as the "unplanned" nature of these moves.

Test

Earlier this month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters that US and NATO guided missile ships were trying to "test" local Russian forces in the Black Sea region.

“Of course, when we see that, when a warship of a country from outside the Black Sea enters, we realize that it carries long-range precision-guided weapons, and when we see these weapons on top of the ship, which is not on a tour, of course, we closely monitor them,” Shoigu added. We follow them, and we realize that provocations can happen at any time, as was the case recently with a British destroyer, and of course we have to prevent such things.” to chase the British cruiser out of what Moscow considers its territorial waters off the coast of the Crimean region.

"To be more precise, of course, this is a permanent attempt to test our readiness, the effectiveness of our system along the Black Sea coast, and in general in the south of our country," Shoigu explained.

"As I know, they are planning to do exercises with our neighboring countries, exercises with the Georgian Navy and the Ukrainian Navy, but we are also conducting exercises, and we will continue to do so," he added.

Mark Episkobos says the USS Mount Whitney and the destroyer USS Porter, both of the US Sixth Fleet, are conducting joint movements in the Black Sea.

According to press releases issued by the US military leaders, the ships Porter and Whitney are in the Black Sea, to support NATO allies and partners in the region.

A statement issued on November 5 said that NATO allies and partners stand together to ensure the safety, stability and security of the Black Sea, and to build partners' capacity to improve effectiveness and participation in operations.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Romania, Georgia and Ukraine in October to reassure Washington's allies and partners in the region in the face of escalating military tensions with Moscow.

Putin: US exercises in the Black Sea a 'provocation'

Moscow ■ AFP /

The day before yesterday, during a telephone conversation with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that the military exercises conducted by the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the Black Sea constitute a "provocation", according to what he said. The Kremlin reported.

In a statement, the Kremlin said that during the call, Putin spoke about "the provocative nature of the large-scale exercises conducted by the United States and some of its allies in the Black Sea, which escalate tension between Russia and NATO."

The Russian president seemed to refer to the participation of several US military ships in exercises in the Black Sea, which he described last week as a "dangerous challenge."

His recent comments come against the backdrop of rising tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

The situation in this region is very tense, since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014. Kiev has been locked in a conflict for seven years against pro-Moscow separatists in the eastern part of its territory.

Tensions have risen in recent days, with the United States and the European Union expressing concern about the recent build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's Black Sea border.

During the phone call with his Russian counterpart, the French president expressed his "grave concern" and his country's readiness to "defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine," according to the French presidency.

For his part, Putin accused Kiev of pursuing a "destructive policy," noting that "Ukraine has recently used drones in the conflict zone," according to the Kremlin.

Ukraine's use of a Turkish-made military drone against pro-Russian separatists last month angered Moscow.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby rejected Putin's criticism of the US maneuvers.

Kirby said that Russia's military activities near Ukraine "continue to worry us," stressing that the United States is transparent about its military exercises, and always publishes press releases about them, including details and accompanying pictures.

"All of our maneuvers are defensive in nature, and they are part of our alliances in the region," he added.

A US Defense Department spokesman accused Moscow of covering up its military activities near the Ukrainian border.

"There was no transparency on the part of the Russians about this concentration of their forces in the western part of their country," he said.

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the conflict in Ukraine has killed more than 13,000 people.

• Russia's ability to carry out large-scale military operations against the Black Sea countries allows it to pressure and blackmail them.

• The developments that the Black Sea is witnessing at the present time between Russia, the United States and "NATO" could escalate and turn into a conflict with unwelcome consequences that the two sides are trying to avoid.

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