Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Romania, (b) Moldova, (c) Bulgaria, (d) Ukraine and (e) Türkiye on (i) security and (ii) maritime access in the western Black Sea region.

A secure Black Sea and freedom of navigation for commercial shipping is essential to regional stability and global food security. The UK has prioritised support for this region, which is why within the past year the Foreign Secretary and his predecessor have visited all the countries mentioned to discuss these very issues. The Minister for Europe discussed regional security at the Moldova-UK Strategic Dialogue on 30 April.

The UK is at the forefront of building Ukraine's future maritime security through our joint leadership of the Maritime Capability Coalition alongside Norway. This is significantly uplifting Ukraine's naval capacity and creating a greater balance of power in the Black Sea.