Regarding The US Proposal To Form NATO Troops In The Black Sea, Turkish Defense Minister: We Know That Romania And Bulgaria Are In No Hurry

JAKARTA - Ankara does not support Washington's plan to establish a NATO special deployment force in the Black Sea region, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Monday, citing Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

The paper points out that the proposal to create such a force in the Black Sea region to contain Russia, presented by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last year, primarily involves Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.

"We tell Romania and Bulgaria not to act hastily," Turkey's defense chief told the newspaper, when asked about Ankara's stance on the US idea.

Hurriyet added that Minister Akar's diplomatic reply made it clear that Turkey was against the proposal.

Furthermore, the Turkish Defense Minister's statement pointed to Ankara's efforts to prevent the Black Sea region from turning into an arena of competition, conflict and tension between Russia, NATO and the US amid the Ukraine crisis.

"Turkey is seeking to use diplomatic avenues beyond the Montreux Convention and persuasion to keep NATO allies away from the Black Sea," Hurriyet noted.