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The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, stated that the US does not seek escalation of hostilities with Iran but will continue to defend Israel after it was attacked by Tehran.
“We are not seeking escalation, but we will continue to support Israel’s defense and protect our personnel in the region,” Blinken said during a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim.
Blinken also participated in the Second Black Sea Security Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, emphasizing the importance of investing in the security of the region to ensure peace and freedom throughout Europe.
In 2014, Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea, serving as a key center of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
“Putin believed Ukraine’s neighbors in the region would be divided, but he was wrong,” Blinken mentioned, reaffirming the US’s support for Ukraine to defend itself against the invasion.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stressed the importance of essential military support for Ukraine, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems to enhance its capabilities against the Kremlin’s invasion.
Kuleba also called for increasing Ukrainian air defense capabilities to strengthen regional and global stability and protect the security of Ukraine’s neighbors and the entire Black Sea region from Russian air terrorism.
“There is no other language that Moscow understands better than the language of force. This is what they respect, everything else they consider a weakness,” Kuleba stated.
Kuleba also emphasized the need for the Black Sea to become “the sea of NATO, of peace and stability,” urging the alliance to implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce Russia’s influence in the region.
NATO celebrated its 75th anniversary while considering a plan to provide more military support to Ukraine. The Kremlin aims for Kyiv to recognize Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and the annexation of Ukrainian provinces, which Ukraine rejects.
The conference, organized by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Bulgaria and Ukraine along with the Center for Defense Strategies of Ukraine, aims to enhance security in the Black Sea region where Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine border the sea.
