Tbilisi. June 30. INTERFAX-The special representative of the NATO Secretary General for the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, who is on a visit to Tbilisi, said that NATO will maintain its representation in the Black Sea and will strengthen cooperation with partners in this region.
As Appathurai told Georgian Channel One on Wednesday, commenting on the incident that occurred on June 23 in the Black Sea with the participation of the British destroyer Defender, the United Kingdom provided the alliance with information about the incident and NATO has a complete picture of what happened.
"NATO has a firm position when it comes to freedom of navigation and the fact that Crimea is Ukraine, not Russia. During this incident, the NATO allies showed firmness in defending the principles I have listed, " he said.
According to him, Russia should realize that NATO allies will not back down on this issue.
"As I know, Defender then arrived in Georgia. So this is a joint commitment of the allies to ensure the security of the Black Sea and dedication to these principles, which is important for this region," Appathurai said.
At the same time, he accused the Russian Federation of "continuing to destabilize the region."
According to him, "Russia is deploying weapons in the Crimea, including missile systems, which complicates the freedom of navigation."
In this regard, Appathurai stressed that NATO will maintain its representation in the Black Sea to support its allies and partners.
