NATO’s foothold in the Black Sea region must be reinstated – Dragomir Zakov

The imperative lies in bolstering NATO’s presence to uphold deterrence and preempt conflicts in the Eastern region.

This opinion was expressed during the Second Black Sea Security Conference by Dragomir Zakov, Ambassador-at-large for Defense and Security in the Euro-Atlantic Zone, Ministry of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (former Minister of Defense and Permanent Representative to NATO).

“The war in Ukraine has put the Black Sea region on the conflict line between russia and the West. The strategic importance of the Black Sea region has been reassessed and found its place in the NATO strategic concept. What we need to do now is to go beyond pure recognition into action and to further operationalize our focus on this region. In Bulgaria, we think we have to build NATO’s infrastructural capabilities on the eastern flank and in the Black Sea region in order to adequately reflect the threats and challenges from strategic directions, for then improving situational awareness, surveillance, and information sharing. As soon as feasible, we have to consider ways to renew NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region which we see as key for ensuring deterrence and prevention of conflicts on NATO’s eastern flank. We have to put a strong focus on enhancing our resilience to threats including the protection of critical infrastructure, which may be the most important element, and also countering disinformation,” emphasized Dragomir Zakov.

He added that along with stronger NATO involvement, we should aim at closer cooperation between NATO and the European Union because we are both natural partners in this region.

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