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Statement of Georgian Minister of Defense
Lt. Gen. D. Tevzadze on the Blackseafor,
EAPC Meeting of the Defense Ministers, Brussels,
8 June 2001


Statement of Georgian Minister of Defense D. Tevzadze on Blackseafor

The BLACKSEAFOR is a regional, stand-alone and at the same time a transparent arrangement. The activity of the BLACKSEAFOR is neither directed against any state nor intended to form a military alliance against any state or a group of states.

The mission of the force will be to contribute to the further strengthening of friendship, good relations and mutual confidence among the Black Sea littoral states as well as to improve peace and stability in the region, through the enhancement of co-operation and interoperability among the naval forces. According to these missions the nature of its tasks will be as follows:

a. Exercises; 
b. Search and Rescue (SAR) operations; 
c. Humanitarian Assistance (HA) operations; 
d. Mine Counter Measures (MCM) Operations; 
e. Environmental Protection; 
f. Goodwill Visits; 
g. Any other tasks agreed by all the Parties.

When directed by the Foreign/Defense Ministers or their authorized representatives, the Force may conduct Peace Support Operations in support of United Nations Security Council and OSCE Resolutions, as well as operations against smuggling, organized crime and terrorism

The engagement in this new initiation of all Black Sea littoral countries gives a firm belief that BLACKSEAFOR will be a good contribution to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area and particularly to its Southern flank in the Black Sea region. 

The participation of Russian Federation in this agreement represents strong basis for BLACKSEAFOR to promote the cooperation and stability within the Black Sea basin area.