Foreign ministers of the 13-nation Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) organization met June 13, their 46th such confab, at which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of the “rich economic potential” of the region. BSEC was founded in 1992.
Lavrov said, “The multipolar global economic system is opening up opportunities for the region to acquire importance in its own right in the context of the objective process of forming the Greater Eurasian partnership with the participation of the members of the EAEU, ASEAN, the SCO and all other countries of our common continent.” Not just among the 13 members, but “the inclusive logic must apply to all observers as well.”
Lavrov and participants in the meeting made specific reference to existing or hoped-for projects. For example, he said, “Major initiatives that are being discussed with the organization, including the construction of the Ring Motorway around the Black Sea…contain considerable potential for mutually beneficial cooperation and raising our citizens’ standards of living.”
Lavrov discussed energy further, saying, “We are holding talks with Ankara and our other foreign colleagues to implement President Putin’s initiative to create a gas distribution center in Turkiye.”
Referring to the conflicts in the region, he took note of the “unabated” continuation of the “trend towards artificial politicization of the working processes in the BSEC.”
