NATO to strengthen its presence in Black Sea region

NATO sees no direct threat of an attack on the alliance, but considers it necessary to build up its military potential, including in the Black Sea region.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during his speech at the session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Caliber.Az reports.

According to him, NATO is not looking for a conflict with Russia, and supporting Ukraine does not make the North Atlantic Alliance a party to the conflict.

"We see no immediate threat of armed attack against any NATO country, but as the war in Ukraine continues and there is instability in the Black Sea region, there is a need to increase our vigilance, to increase our presence on the ground and in the air. We have also agreed within NATO to invest more in integrated missile defence to increase our ability to rapidly reinforce or relocate our military capabilities," Stoltenberg said.

He specified that NATO aims to support Ukraine, but at the same time to prevent the conflict from escalating beyond its territory. "Therefore, we have no plans to deploy NATO forces in Ukraine or to send NATO equipment into Ukrainian airspace," the secretary-general said.