from Sputnik News:
Russian military analyst Sergei Ishchenko comments on the US military’s apparent plans to increase their presence on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, and the possible threat to the Crimean peninsula this may pose.
US Ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin confirmed late last week that the United States would deploy additional troops to the country and conduct more training exercises beginning next year. The move, Rubin said, would be part of an overall boost in US capabilities deployed in the Black Sea region.
“We’re looking at a very significant increase as we go forward to next year, not just in exercises and training but also in rotation of units and equipment from NATO allies here to ensure that there’s a constant ability to learn how to work together, to train together, within NATO, and that includes the Black Sea,” the ambassador said, according to Sofia News Agency.
“I think you will see there’s already planning underway for [a] significant increase, which will include multiple NATO allies – the United States, Bulgaria, and Romania working together to address challenges in the Black Sea, including naval forces, and I think you will see a significant increase [in cooperation] between our navy and your navy this year,” Rubin added.
Commenting on the ambassasdor’s words, Sergei Ishchenko, a political and military analyst for Russia’s Svobodnaya Pressa online newspaper, suggested that the news was definitely something Moscow will be paying close attention to, even if it the announcement wasn’t surprising in and of itself.
“Washington’s desire to turn the Black Sea into a ‘NATO lake’ is not news to anyone. NATO warships, primarily from the US, practically haven’t left these waters in recent years, regularly replacing one another.”
“But recently US Ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin indicated that the Pentagon’s strategic planning, in the immediate vicinity of Russia’s Crimea, includes a new and very important element – a fixed base of US Naval Special Operations Forces (SOF), known throughout the world as the US Navy SEALs.” And that is an important new development.
Ishchenko explained that “from the ambassador’s words it follows that ‘tactical units’ of US marine commandos have already formed up and are making themselves comfortable in the Black Sea Region. Between April 13-30, the Bulgarian Navy’s press service reported on some very interesting Bulgarian-American drills in the areas of Burgas and Varna. By all appearances, the Navy SEALs played the central role in the maneuvers.”
“According to the Navy’s press release, local military forces played a supporting role in the training, creating a tactical situation, provided the training and support ship Dimitar Dobrev, the Akin tanker, motor boats and two helicopters. The training saw 70 troops from the US Navy’s Special Operations Forces carrying out the main training tasks involving simulated combat.”
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