Defense Minister: Ukraine's participation in NATO presence in Black Sea discussed in Brussels
During the meeting the NATO-Ukraine Commission has discussed the possibility of official Kyiv participation in the initiatives on strengthening NATO presence in the Black Sea region.
"We considered this issue at our meeting. I met with our Romanian counterparts yesterday and counterparts from other countries. We were discussing the participation of our troops in joint operations," Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said at a press conference after the meeting of the Commission in Brussels on Wednesday.
He noted that Ukraine is involved in many operations held by NATO.
"We need to wait for the Alliance's decision concerning the security in the Black Sea region, especially the decisions by Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria. We are ready to join the security initiatives in the Black Sea water zone. This issue was discussed and when a decision is taken at the NATO level, we will join our counterparts," the minister said.
The defense minister also said he sees the development of bilateral relations with Romania as promising.
"This is a military-industrial complex and we will be considering such a possibility," Poltorak added.
