Russia no longer able to use Black Sea as bridgehead - Zelensky

This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during his speech to the PABSEC summit, Ukrinform reports with reference to the president's press service.

It was in the Black Sea that the fleet of maritime drones – the Ukrainian fleet – launched operations for the first time in the world.

"I would also like to point out that now, as one of the key results of our actions, Russia is unable to use the Black Sea as a springboard to destabilize other regions of the world," Zelensky said.

The president is convinced that one of the pillars of global security is located in the Black Sea region, and therefore the cooperation between members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization should only expand.

"Today, the world already understands the importance of our region – the importance of the Black Sea. This is where one of the foundations of global security lies. And it is our peoples – our countries – together with our partners who are the guarantors of this security. We are capable of adding stability to the world and strengthening peace. And we are already doing it," Zelensky emphasized.

He recalled that one of the key elements of Russian aggression against the rules-based international order was aggression in the Black Sea.

" It is here that Russia has been using its military foothold in our Crimea for years to undermine the normal life of different peoples," the president said.

According to Zelensky, Russia also used the Black Sea for its aggression against Georgia in 2008, to foment war and chaos in the Middle East, particularly in Syria. "It was with the seizure of Crimea that the hybrid war against Ukraine and the whole of Europe began," he noted.

Zelensky added that on February 24, with the outbreak of full-scale war, Russia attempted to turn our region and the Black Sea into a weapon, and not only against Ukraine. The aggressor needed the blockade of our ports and the deliberate destruction of our port and export infrastructure to destroy the global food market and thus provoke new outbreaks of chaos in different parts of the world.

"Thanks to our cooperation, all of this is being stopped. Please look at what we have achieved together during this time of full-scale war," the president said, addressing the summit.

He noted that cooperation between the peoples of the Black Sea region, with the support of partners, is capable of bringing stability back to the world food market, and, therefore, restoring the security of normal life for dozens of nations – from Morocco to Southeast Asia.

"We managed to provide such a level of protection to the western part of the Black Sea, which now allows our maritime export corridors to work. The Danube region, which is also critical to global security, is gaining new significance," the head of state said.

He expressed his gratitude to all the leaders, states, and peoples whose activity helps protect the international order and guarantees more peace and security for the world.

"And I thank our neighbors in the region – Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova – for supporting global security. I am confident that the restoration of a just peace and the dismantling of Russia's aggressive presence, particularly in the Black Sea, will help Georgia restore its territorial integrity and create more guarantees for the national security of all the states of the Caucasus," the president said.

He added that the situation in the Black Sea region and the development of cooperation between countries directly depends on the possibility of growth for the region of the Balkans and the Baltic Sea. "By overcoming Russian aggression, we are protecting all the peoples of the Baltic-Black Sea-Azov space and neighboring regions," the head of state added.

So now, according to him, it is more obvious than ever before that cooperation in our Black Sea region should only increase.

As reported, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization is a subregional association of 12 countries of the Black Sea region.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization is a subregional association of 12 countries of the Black Sea region.

The organization was created for the purpose of close economic cooperation of the participating states, free movement of goods, capital, services, and labor force, as well as integration of the economies of these nations into the global economic system.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, believes that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation deserves a restart and significant revitalization.

Photo: President’s Office