The strategic situation in the Black Sea has been significantly altered by Russia's actions in Ukraine, said the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. European Parliament officials denounced Moscow's pressure on countries like Romania and warns with new sanctions.
According to the EP committee members, the annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea and the military developments in the Black Sea threaten the security architecture of Europe.
"By supplementing the strategic military capabilities, including the strong arming of Crimea, Russia actually creates a new launching platform, matching in size the Kaliningrad enclave, this time in the Black Sea area. In just one year, the defense force in Crime was transformed into an attack force, a very powerful tool with which Russia can threaten Central Europe, the Balkans, Southern Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, and even the Middle East, " Ioan Mircea Pascu rapporteur said, according to an official statement presented by Mediafax.
MEPs are concerned about the intensification of Russia's pressure on Eastern European countries such as Romania, Poland and the Baltic states.
Russia could try to create a land corridor to Crimea, along the western coast of the Azov Sea and the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria, European officials said.
"If Russia does not fully implement the Minsk Agreement and fails to return Crimea to Ukraine, the European Union must step up sanctions and consider supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons", the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament recommends.