WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — NATO will be addressing the need and costs to the alliance of deploying a multinational brigade to the Black Sea region, Romanian Ambassador to the United States George Cristian Maior said at an Atlantic Council event on Black Sea security on Wednesday.
"NATO allies have [during] the past months discussed very seriously the relevance of the eastern flank in general [the northern and southern part of the flank] in terms of its strategic relevance, due to the recent events in Crimea and the Russian attitude in general," Maior stated.
There are "nuances" being debated over the "level of intensity of the threat" Russia poses, as well as the issue of cost, Maier added.
"There is always a matter of resources in NATO for NATO nations when you have such developments that are, of course, costly," Maior pointed out.
Earlier on Wednesday Maior said that Romania will propose a multinational Black Sea brigade at the July NATO summit in Warsaw.
NATO has been bolstering its military presence in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea since the outbreak of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine in April 2014, in response to what it considers to be Russia's aggressive foreign policy.
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the Ukraine-related accusations leveled at it, warning that increased NATO activities near the country's borders could undermine regional and global stability.
