US Senators Initiate Legislative Bill to Establish Strategy Toward Black Sea Region
By Khatia Bzhalava
Friday, July 15, 2022
On July 12, US senators initiated an important legislative bill in Congress, confirming the United States’ growing interest and firm support towards the Black Sea region and Georgia, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported. US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Mitt Romney introduced the bipartisan legislation that directs the Administration to develop a strategy toward the Black Sea region. Senators Thom Tillis, Chris Coons, Roger Wicker, and Ben Cardin co-sponsored the bill.
The senators note that the Black Sea region has increasingly become a critical point for European and global security amid Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and added that now, it has become clear that the United States must have both a strategy and presence in the region.
The bill requires the US Administration to develop a strategy to strengthen coordination between the US, NATO, and partners in the Black Sea to increase security, support economic prosperity, and promote democracy. The senators say that the national security of the Black Sea region, namely Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, must be ensured.
Georgian Ambassador to the United States David Zalkaliani hailed the legislation, saying the move marked “the first time” the Senate had asked a US administration to develop a strategy for the region.
According to Zalkaliani, the bipartisan legislation envisaged the strategy to be ‘comprehensive’, with the main focus on strengthening security and defense capabilities in the Black Sea region.
“It is an important bipartisan legislative initiative that should define the US strategy for the Black Sea region. This is the first time that the US Senate addresses the administration to develop a strategy for the Black Sea region, and it includes the definition of the Black Sea region, which directly refers to Georgia as well,” Zalkaliani said.
The Ambassador further stressed that the economic component of the strategy was related to important economic projects that strengthen the stability of the Black Sea region and our defense capability.
