NATO says boosted naval presence in Black Sea not meant to provoke Russia

BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO will step up naval war games and surveillance in the Black Sea to complement its increased land and air force presence near a more assertive Russia, the alliance says Thursday.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insists the decision taken by alliance defense ministers in Brussels was not designed to be a provocation at a time of heightened tensions with Russia, which annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

“We agreed on… an increased NATO naval presence in the Black Sea for enhanced training, exercises and situational awareness,” Stoltenberg tells a press conference.

A NATO official tells AFP on condition of anonymity the decision was taken to deal with Russia’s military buildup in the Black Sea and bolster the alliance’s southeastern flank after it sent troop reinforcements to the Baltic States and Poland in the northeast.

The official also says the goal is to boost intelligence gathering, such as on Russian ground-to-air missiles in the region.

“We will have an increased presence in the Black Sea but it will be measured, it will be defensive and it will in no way be provoking any conflict or escalating tensions,” Stoltenberg says.

— AFP