OREANDA-NEWS  The risk of incidents, including unintentional ones, is increasing in the Black Sea due to NATO activity, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Problems at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

"The intelligence activity of the allies in the North Atlantic bloc has also increased in the region. Reconnaissance aircraft based in Constanta, Romania, are constantly monitoring the waters of the Black Sea. The NATO members transmit the received data to the Kiev regime. Against this background, the risk of incidents, including unintentional ones, is really increasing. Similar incidents have already happened, for example, in March 2023 with an American UAV," the publication quotes the diplomat as saying.

Acting Romanian Defense Minister Radu Mirutse had previously proposed the creation of a unified military command of the NATO coastal states on the Black Sea, the newspaper recalls. Moreover, Bucharest is ready to lead this structure.

Romania's initiative, as well as the situation in the region as a whole, will be discussed at a meeting of the organization's council scheduled for October 20, according to media reports.

"His decisions are expected to include increasing coalition capabilities to protect air and sea space from drones and other low-flying "threats." Thus, the alliance is not going to slow down its activity in the region. By his actions, he demonstrates his readiness to further escalate tensions in the Black Sea region," Maslennikov summed up in an interview with the publication.