NATO and US Policy in the Black Sea Region. From Short-Term Crisis Management to a Long-Term Vision

Panel IIIa, organized in partnership with the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in the USA, was chaired by General (Ret.) Daniel PETRESCU is joined by notable speakers, including General (Ret.) Philip M. BREEDLOVE, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe in the USA, Dr. Wendin SMITH, Director of the Security Policy Directorate at NATO’s Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, USA, Titus CORLĂȚEAN, the current Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Senate of Romania, and Dragomir ZAKOV, the Director General for Bilateral Relations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Defence of Bulgaria.

The discussions concerned the strategic importance of Romania for NATO, Russia as the biggest threat to the Alliance, the priorities for the upcoming NATO Summit, and the long-term relationship with Ukraine. Specifically, it stipulated the necessity of the Alliance to demonstrate to Russia that it is set to protect the freedom of navigation, enhance NATO presence in the Black Sea, and even learn some lessons from the Alliance’s past mistakes.