Admiral Stuart Munsch (Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Africa/Commander, Allied Joint Forces Command, Naples) is in Sofia. He is participating in the second edition of the Black Sea Forum against the backdrop of the US plans to increase its influence in the region and reinforce the Alliance's presence in the area following the war in Ukraine.

Russian warships, Crimea and closed seaways make the Black Sea region "an area of vital strategic importance to the United States and NATO", said the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Washington plans to have a new strategy for the Black Sea region by June. Three of the six Black Sea countries are NATO members, and Ukraine applied for NATO membership.

Representatives of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkiye, Ukraine and NATO's main command structures are to deliver speeches at the forum.