Odesa hosts meeting of heads of border guard services of Black Sea region countries

Colonel General Petro Tsyhykal, the Chairman of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, opened the 19th meeting of the heads of the border guard services of the Black Sea region countries, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Today we need to make a realistic assessment of the existing problems and prospects of partnership of the coastal countries of the Black Sea region. Due to the military aggression of Russia, Ukraine and other countries have radically revised their approaches towards protection of their borders, including at sea. Ukraine has launched the maritime security reform. In particular, the Maritime Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service headed by Rear Admiral Oleh Kostur was established in Odesa city. In the spirit of trust and constructive dialogue we continue to strengthen cooperation with the leadership of the border guard services of the neighboring countries for the sake of countering modern threats to the security on the Black Sea," Tsyhykal said.

Ukraine has organized such a meeting within the framework of the agreement on cooperation between the border guard services of the Black Sea region countries for the third time already.

The representatives of the Russian Federation were not invited to the meeting "because of non-compliance with their obligations and violations of the international law."

When asked by an Ukrinform correspondent about the agreed agenda of the meeting, Colonel General Tsyhykal said: "We will specify the challenges and threats, which have arisen in the Black Sea region. We will consider the issue of planning joint operations by the border guard services, sharing experience in countering terrorism and smuggling. We will do everything for closer cooperation with the partners, normalization of the situation and restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia."

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