{"id":45819,"date":"2021-10-26T22:02:39","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T22:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/26\/pentagon-chief-stresses-security-cooperation-as-key-to-stopping-russias-black-sea-aggression\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:39:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:39:35","slug":"pentagon-chief-stresses-security-cooperation-as-key-to-stopping-russias-black-sea-aggression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/10\/26\/pentagon-chief-stresses-security-cooperation-as-key-to-stopping-russias-black-sea-aggression\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon chief stresses security cooperation as key to stopping Russia\u2019s Black Sea \u2018aggression\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 On a single day last week, 40 Russian warships staged<\/a> a mock landing in Crimea, 20 Russian fighters and bombers repelled<\/a> a notional enemy from landing on the Crimean coast \u2015 and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began the first leg of his trip to Black Sea nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the high-profile trip to Georgia<\/a>, Ukraine<\/a> and Romania<\/a>, Austin signaled the Biden administration sees the Black Sea as a front to confront Russia, though he didn\u2019t spell out a plan to do so. Austin and his aides used the visits to voice public support and, in private meetings, <\/b>encourage security cooperation among NATO allies Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria \u2015 and aspirants Georgia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe security and stability of the Black Sea are in the U.S.\u2019s national interest and critical for the security of NATO\u2019s eastern flank,\u201d Austin said Oct. 20 in Romania. \u201cThe region, it goes without saying, is vulnerable to Russian aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen evidence of that by ongoing actions in eastern Ukraine, the occupation of parts of Georgia, and the militarization of the Black Sea and provocative actions in the air and at sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overlapping activities highlight the Black Sea as a flashpoint in tension between Russia and the West. Now a maritime front line, it\u2019s seen as a strategic crossroads between Europe and Asia, a nexus for energy routes, and a springboard for Russia to project power into the Eastern Mediterranean, the Levant and the Atlantic Ocean, according to the European Policy Center\u2019s Ionela Ciolan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the day of Austin\u2019s visit to Romania, two Russian Su-30 jets scrambled to intercept<\/a> two American B-1B bombers and two KC-135 tanker aircraft over the waters of the Black Sea \u201cto identify the air targets and prevent a violation of Russia\u2019s state border,\u201d according to the Russian government news agency Tass.<\/p>\n\n\n\t