The official representative of the US Defense Ministry, John Kirby, on Monday, July 12, informed that after the completion of the US-Ukrainian maneuvers as part of the Sea Breeze exercise, the ships of the US Sixth Fleet went to the shores of Bulgaria. A recording of the press conference is available on the Pentagon's website.
Kirby noted that 175 events were held as part of the exercises that ended last weekend.
"The ships of the Sixth Fleet went to Bulgaria to participate in the exercises," a Pentagon spokesman said.
Earlier, on July 9, the representative of the Sea Breeze exercise command, Captain of the US Navy Stuart Bauman, said that most of the ships participating in the international exercises will remain in the Black Sea for "some time" to participate in maneuvers in Bulgaria. However, this will not violate the time limit provided for by the Montreux Convention.
From June 28 to July 10, the annual Sea Breeze naval exercises were held in the Black Sea. Their participants practiced combat operations at sea, on land and in the air, including amphibious landings, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warfare. The exercises involved 5,000 military personnel, 40 aircraft and 32 ships from 32 countries, including Ukraine, the United States and NATO members.
On the day of the start of the exercises, the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control insisted that the scale and aggressiveness of Sea Breeze-2021 in the Black Sea do not contribute to security in the region.
On July 1, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the NATO Sea Breeze exercises in the Black Sea are a "provocative muscle game" and have "anti-Russian overtones". In her opinion, the United States and its allies are turning the Black Sea into a zone of military confrontation.
At the same time, the Russian Black Sea Fleet said that they control the actions of NATO ships and other countries that participate in Sea Breeze — 2021.
