Black Sea must be made “NATO Sea” - MFA Ukraine

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy stated this at the first Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest, reports an Ukrinform correspondent.

He noted that the West did not have a stable Black Sea strategy, while Russia always had one - aggressive, revanchist, and barbaric. The minister also recalled that Russia's first attack on the territorial integrity of Ukraine took place on Tuzla Island between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Kuleba also mentioned that Russia acted when the West was in doubt. When fear closed NATO's doors to Ukraine and Georgia in 2008, Russia quickly responded by attacking both, Kuleba said, noting that some leaders decided the better strategy was to keep the maniac happy, including leaving his potential victims defenseless.

According to the head of the Foreign Ministry, the NATO summit in Vilnius is a chance to correct this mistake of the past and to take decisive steps toward Ukraine's accession to NATO, so that the door is not only open, but there is also a clear plan for when and how Ukraine will enter it.

"I see we all understand now that fear is not a strategy. It is time to work out a comprehensive security network for all nations of all the region that feel threatened that maniac on the loose. It’s time to turn Black Sea into what Baltic Sea has become – a sea of NATO. This war has proven that the security of the region is indivisible. A threat to one is a threat to all," Kuleba emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported, the second (official) day of the First Black Sea Security Conference of the International Crimea Platform, which gathered representatives from more than 50 countries and organizations in Bucharest, began on Thursday.