Admiral Stuart Munsch (Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Africa/Commander, Allied Joint Forces Command, Naples) is in Sofia. He is participating in the second edition of the Black Sea Forum against the backdrop of the US plans to increase its influence in the region and reinforce the Alliance's presence in the area following the war in Ukraine.
Russian warships, Crimea and closed seaways make the Black Sea region "an area of vital strategic importance to the United States and NATO", said the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Washington plans to have a new strategy for the Black Sea region by June. Three of the six Black Sea countries are NATO members, and Ukraine applied for NATO membership.
Representatives of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkiye, Ukraine and NATO's main command structures are to deliver speeches at the forum.
Plovdiv will offer concerts, bazaars and an ice park for the Christmas and New Year holidays to its citizens and guests, the municipality has announced. Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov will light the Christmas tree in front of the Plovdiv Municipality..
On Thursday, minimum temperatures will range from 3° to 19°C, with eastern areas reaching 15–19°C and Sofia around 6°C. The day will be cloudy with widespread rain. Heavy rainfall is expected in western regions overnight and in central and southern..
“Solutions for achieving peace in Ukraine must be based on fundamental principles of the UN Charter, such as sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.” This was stated by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev at the informal video..
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