The New Strategy Center participated in the “Leadership in the Atlantic World” conference, organized in Vevey, Switzerland, by the Institute for Diplomacy, Security, and Innovation at Pepperdine University.

George Scutaru, Director General of NSC, was invited as a speaker in the panel “Atlantic Civil and Military Maritime Spaces,” moderated by Benedetta Berti, alongside Simona Cojocaru, Director of the Defense Policy Directorate within Romania’s Ministry of National Defence, and Robert Wilkie, Co-Chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute and former member of the U.S. Administration during President Donald Trump’s first term.

George Scutaru addressed the challenges to freedom of navigation across NATO’s entire Eastern Flank, emphasizing that the Arctic region, the Baltic area, and the Black Sea region represent a strategic continuum. He noted that the Arctic will become an area of intensifying great-power competition as climate change opens new transport routes and access to vast natural resources. The Baltic Sea, dominated by NATO, will remain an area where Russia is preoccupied with the feeling of “encirclement,” leading it to exert constant pressure in the land domain through Belarus and Kaliningrad, while also testing NATO’s resilience in protecting critical underwater infrastructure.

At the same time, the Black Sea remains a major point of interest for Russia because it provides access to the “warm seas” through the Mediterranean and enables Moscow to maintain its presence in the Middle East and North Africa. The Black Sea also represents connectivity, major energy resources, and global food security. The Romanian speakers highlighted Romania’s efforts to preserve freedom of navigation and its investments in the defense sector as part of the country’s contribution to the security of the North Atlantic Alliance.

George Scutaru also underlined that the American military posture in Europe, especially on NATO’s Eastern Flank, serves not only to deter Russia but also as an instrument through which the United States can project its interests into other regions, such as the Middle East.

Participation in this conference is part of NSC’s ongoing efforts to promote the strategic relevance of the Black Sea in various international formats.