During the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, the leaders of the North Atlantic Alliance member states approved the establishment of the Ukraine-NATO Council, a new body for interaction between Kyiv and the Alliance. As stated by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, "The Ukraine-NATO Council is a forum for crisis consultations and decision-making, where we will meet as equals." The first meeting of the Council took place in Vilnius on July 12, with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Wednesday, July 26, the Ukraine-NATO Council held its second meeting, dedicated to the issues related to Russia's withdrawal from the "grain deal" and subsequent Kremlin strikes on Ukrainian ports. "Russia bears full responsibility for its dangerous actions in the Black Sea region. It must stop using hunger as a weapon and threatening the most vulnerable people in the world with food insecurity. Moscow's actions also pose significant risks to the stability of the Black Sea region, which is of strategic importance to NATO," stated NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Participating in the meeting, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Alexander Kubrakov emphasized that the participants jointly condemned Russia's withdrawal from the grain initiative and deliberate missile and drone attacks on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine. "In just the past 9 days, as a result of the Russian Federation's attacks, 26 objects of port infrastructure and 5 civilian ships have been damaged and partially destroyed. Additionally, the Russians are restricting navigation in the area of the temporarily occupied part of Crimea and near the territorial waters of Bulgaria. This effectively blocks the maritime traffic to Ukrainian ports," noted the Vice Prime Minister. He added, "We need to act quickly and decisively. We cannot allow the Black Sea to be blocked by Russian forces. This can lead not only to losses for the Ukrainian economy but also to a serious food crisis in the world, particularly in humanitarian-sensitive regions such as Africa and Asia. We are already discussing possible ways to counter the enemy's cynical attacks and promote free trade navigation. We are grateful to the allies in the Alliance for their decision to enhance their intelligence activities in the Black Sea region. We hope this will contribute to stabilizing the security situation and create conditions for the resumption of normal operations of Ukrainian ports."
In this regard, it is worth noting that NATO has valuable experience in implementing similar global projects - "Earnest Will" - the code name for the operation carried out by the US Navy to escort Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf in the late 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war, with the aim of preventing an energy crisis. It was the largest maritime convoy operation since World War II. Therefore, there are all chances to conduct a similar operation on the food front, as Russia uses food, particularly Ukrainian grains, as a means of blackmail against the entire world and effectively provokes a threat of famine in certain countries.
In the final protocol of the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, it is stated that the North Atlantic Alliance will strengthen monitoring and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including through the use of maritime patrol aircraft and drones.
Source: attuale.info
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