Ukraine and Georgia are our close partners. Such a statement NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made today during the press-conference with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis at Mihail Kogălniceanu Military Base.

“NATO is a defensive Alliance. Our task is to preserve peace. We do that today by making sure that there is no room for misunderstanding or miscalculation about our commitment and readiness to protect Romania and all other NATO Allies.

This is even more important in light of Russia’s unjustified military build-up in and around Ukraine, including in the Black Sea region.

The Black Sea is a region of vital strategic importance to NATO. Three NATO Allies are littoral states, as are our close partners Ukraine and Georgia. So security in this region is of utmost importance to NATO. We are committed to dialogue and to find a political solution”, - said Jens Stoltenberg.