Ukraine-NATO "Sea Breeze-2010" exercises end in Black Sea

Ukraine-NATO joint "Sea Breeze-2010" military exercises ended in the Black Sea on Friday, the press service of Ukraine's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The closing ceremony was held at the Officers' House in Odessa, a port city in southern Ukraine, according to the statement.

On behalf of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, Ukrainian Navy Vice Admiral Viktor Maksimov thanked the participants of the drills for their commitments on international cooperation.

"We have completely fulfilled the tasks of the exercises," Maksimov noted.

Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa Mark Fitzgerald, in his turn, expressed his gratitude to the Ukrainian government and people for the opportunity to conduct the war games.

"I hope next year we will also carry out tasks together," he said.

Ukraine and NATO launched the "Sea Breeze" military exercises on July 12. The land, naval and air drills were focused on fighting against sea piracy and terrorism.

The exercises involved around 1,000 troops from Ukraine and 500 more from 11 other countries, including the United States, Belgium, Turkey and Germany.

Such military exercises have been conducted in Ukraine since 1997. However, last year the Ukrainian parliament refused to approve the drills, and they were canceled in 2006 and 2007 because of anti-NATO protests.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych on July 15 signed a law confirming the country's non-bloc foreign policy, dropping a bid to join NATO but stressing the readiness to enhance constructive cooperation with the military bloc based on mutual interest.

Source:Xinhua