II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4509 

To provide for security in the Black Sea region, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 12, 2022 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. 

CARDIN, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for security in the Black Sea region, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Black Sea Security 

5 Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Black Sea region is of critical impor9 tance to the national security of six nations: 


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1 Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and 

2 Turkey. 

3 (2) The Black Sea region has been a zone of in4 creasing tension and conflict on the eastern border 

5 of the European Union and the North Atlantic Trea6 ty Organization (NATO) following President Vladi7 mir Putin’s 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine 

8 and 2008 invasion of Georgia, which still has terri9 tories illegally occupied by the Russian Federation. 

10 (3) Since the illegal attempted annexation of 

11 Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014, the Russian Fed12 eration has enhanced the Black Sea Fleet to in13 crease its presence in the region, enhanced its air 

14 and coastal defenses, disregarded international law 

15 regarding freedom of navigation to interrupt in reg16 ular shipping routes, and threatened freedom of 

17 navigation exercises in the Black Sea. 

18 (4) Since its military interventions in the Black 

19 Sea region starting in 2008, the Russian Federation 

20 has undertaken persistent hybrid measures to fur21 ther destabilize the region through malign influence 

22 campaigns. 

23 (5) Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by the 

24 Russian Federation, the unity among Black Sea 

25 countries has strengthened, particularly among 


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1 NATO member countries Romania, Bulgaria, and 

2 Turkey. 

3 (6) The Russian Federation is leveraging its il4 legal claim over Black Sea waters and the territories 

5 of Black Sea region states to execute military exer6 cises to threaten the territorial sovereignty of 

7 Ukraine and kill innocent civilians. 

8 (7) Russia has a long history of using its posi9 tion in the Black Sea and Crimea to threaten NATO 

10 allies, including the HMS Defender incident of June 

11 2021, when a British ship was harassed by Russian 

12 ships while undertaking a freedom of navigation pa13 trol in waters near the Crimean Peninsula. 

14 (8) While NATO has conducted routine exer15 cises in the region, the United States presence in the 

16 Black Sea has decreased since Russia’s annexation 

17 of Crimea due to competing security priorities 

18 among allies, a lack of available ships and resources, 

19 and a lack of a clearly defined regional strategy. 

20 (9) While, in February 2022, Turkey blocked 

21 the entry of Russian warships into the Black Sea 

22 pursuant to the Convention regarding the Regime of 

23 the Straits, signed at Montreux, Switzerland July 

24 20, 1936 (commonly known as the ‘‘Montreux Con25 vention’’), the Montreux Convention does not acVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Jul 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4509.IS S4509

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1 count for the increase in size, weight, and capabili2 ties of modern warships, and Russia does not have 

3 the same limits on tonnage as non-littoral states. 

4 (10) Turkey has resisted attempts to change its 

5 interpretation of the Montreux Convention to avoid 

6 weakening their position in the region. 

7 (11) While NATO has long recognized the stra8 tegic importance of the Black Sea, Russia has 

9 sought to capitalize on at times divergent priorities 

10 among NATO members in the region to advance ex11 pansionist claims. 

12 (12) On February 24, 2022, Russian Federa13 tion President Vladimir Putin instigated an 

14 unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful war violating 

15 the territorial integrity of the sovereign country of 

16 Ukraine and is using the Russian Federation’s mili17 tary presence on the Black Sea to kill innocent 

18 Ukrainian civilians. 

19 (13) The Russian Federation’s unprovoked war 

20 on Ukraine has underscored the importance of the 

21 Black Sea region to United States national security 

22 interests. 

23 (14) The Russian Federation’s unprovoked war 

24 has caused a food security crisis as 20,000,000– 

25 30,000,000 tons of Ukrainian grain remain unable 


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1 to leave Ukraine in an efficient and secure manner. 

2 The war has also impeded Ukraine’s ability to 

3 produce and transport next year’s harvest. 

4 (15) The Russian Federation’s actions in and 

5 around the Black Sea have also disrupted secure, re6 liable access to energy resources throughout Europe. 

7 Notably, Gazprom suspended natural gas supplies to 

8 Poland and Bulgaria on April 27, 2022, after the 

9 two countries refused to abide by a March 31, 2022, 

10 Russian decree that all payments be made in rubles, 

11 in violation of the terms of their contracts with 

12 Gazprom. 

13 (16) The People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s 

14 coercive economic policies also threaten the economic 

15 stability of the Black Sea region. 

16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BLACK SEA SECURITY. 

17 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that— 

19 (1) it is in the interest of the United States to 

20 prevent the spread of further armed conflict in Eu21 rope by recognizing the Black Sea region as an 

22 arena of Russian aggression; 

23 (2) the littoral members of the Black Sea are 

24 critical in countering aggression by the Government 


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1 of the Russian Federation and maintaining the col2 lective security of the NATO alliance; 

3 (3) the repeated, illegal, unprovoked, and vio4 lent attempts of the Russian Federation to expand 

5 its territory and control access to the Mediterranean 

6 through the Black Sea constitutes a threat to the 

7 national security of the United States and the 

8 NATO alliance; 

9 (4) the United States condemns attempts by 

10 the Russian Federation to change or alter bound11 aries in the Black Sea region by any means contrary 

12 to international law; 

13 (5) the United States and its allies should 

14 robustly counter Russia’s illegal territorial claims on 

15 the Crimean Peninsula, along Ukraine’s territorial 

16 waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, in the 

17 Black Sea’s international waters, and in the terri18 tories it is illegally occupying in Ukraine; 

19 (6) the United States should continue to work 

20 within NATO and with NATO allies to develop a 

21 long-term strategy to enhance security, establish a 

22 permanent, sustainable presence in the eastern 

23 flank, and bolster the democratic resilience of its al24 lies and partners in the region; 


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1 (7) the United States should also work with the 

2 European Union in coordinating a strategy to sup3 port democratic initiatives and economic prosperity 

4 in the region, which includes two European Union 

5 members and four aspirant nations; 

6 (8) the United States should explore efforts to 

7 rebuild trust and bilateral relations with Turkey, a 

8 key ally in the Black Sea region and a bulwark 

9 against Iran; 

10 (9) it is in the interest of the United States 

11 that NATO adopt a robust strategy toward the 

12 Black Sea, including by working with interested 

13 partner countries in the region to advance common 

14 security objectives; 

15 (10) the United States should work to foster 

16 dialogue among countries within the Black Sea re17 gion to improve communication and intelligence 

18 sharing and increase cyber defense capabilities; 

19 (11) countries with historic and economic ties 

20 to Russia are looking to the United States and Eu21 rope to provide a positive economic presence in the 

22 broader region as a counterbalance to the Russian 

23 Federation’s malign influence in the region; 


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1 (12) it is in the interest of the United States 

2 to support and bolster the economic ties between the 

3 United States and Black Sea partners; 

4 (13) the United States should support the ini5 tiative undertaken by central and eastern European 

6 states to advance the Three Seas Initiative Fund to 

7 strengthen transport, energy, and digital infrastruc8 ture connectivity in the region between the Adriatic 

9 Sea, Baltic Sea, and Black Sea; 

10 (14) there are mutually beneficial opportunities 

11 for increased investment and economic expansion, 

12 particularly on energy, climate, and transport infra13 structure initiatives, between the United States and 

14 Black Sea states and the broader region; 

15 (15) improved economic ties between the United 

16 States and the Black Sea states and the broader re17 gion can lead to a strengthened strategic partner18 ship; 

19 (16) the United States must address the food 

20 security challenges arising from closure of Ukraine’s 

21 Black Sea ports, as this global challenge will have 

22 critical national security implications for the United 

23 States, our partners, and allies; 

24 (17) Russia has a brutal history of using hun25 ger as a weapon and must be stopped; and 


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1 (18) countering the PRC’s coercive economic 

2 pursuits remains an important policy imperative in 

3 order to further integrate the Black Sea countries 

4 into western economies and improve regional sta5 bility. 

6 SEC. 4. REPORT ON UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE 

7 BLACK SEA REGION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the National Security 

10 Council, in coordination with the Department of State, 

11 Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, 

12 the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, 

13 the United States Agency for International Development, 

14 the Trade and Development Agency, the United States 

15 Export-Import Bank, the Department of Agriculture, and 

16 the United States International Development Finance 

17 Corporation, shall deliver to the appropriate congressional 

18 committees an interagency report that outlines current 

19 United States efforts and policy options toward Black Sea 

20 countries and the broader region and addresses the mat21 ters addressed in section 3, including NATO engagement 

22 in the region. 

23 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub24 section (a) shall include the following elements: 


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1 (1) An overview of ongoing efforts by relevant 

2 United States Government agencies toward the 

3 Black Sea region, both through bilateral initiatives 

4 with Black Sea countries and any regional initiatives 

5 toward the region, to provide military and security 

6 assistance, economic support, and good governance 

7 initiatives. 

8 (2) A description of current efforts and policy 

9 options that can be undertaken by the Department 

10 of State, the United States International Develop11 ment Finance Corporation, the United States Ex12 port-Import Bank, the Trade and Development 

13 Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department 

14 of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and 

15 the Department of Agriculture to promote economic 

16 growth, integration, and quality infrastructure (in17 cluding for energy integration and independence) in 

18 the Black Sea littoral states and the broader region. 

19 (3) A breakdown of initiatives to provide the 

20 following types of support, together with a break21 down of funding to support these efforts: 

22 (A) Military assistance, including infra23 structure in support of enhanced deployments 

24 and supply logistics in the region. 


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1 (B) Economic assistance, including support 

2 for the food security crisis. 

3 (C) Countering Russian disinformation and 

4 propaganda in the Black Sea region. 

5 (D) Energy diversification and regional 

6 market integration and supply to reduce de7 pendence on energy from the Russian Federa8 tion and promote clean energy initiatives. 

9 (E) Using economic statecraft tools, such 

10 as trade and monetary policy, equity invest11 ments and debt financing and political risk in12 surance, to increase the United States bilateral 

13 trade and investment in the region and oppor14 tunities for near-shoring production in the 

15 broader region for the European market. 

16 (F) Fostering greater regional cooperation. 

17 (G) Increasing access to global capital 

18 markets and enhancement of local and regional 

19 sources of capital for critical infrastructure and 

20 other investments. 

21 (H) A plan for helping United States allies 

22 in the region to accelerate their transitions 

23 from legacy Russian military equipment and 

24 promote NATO interoperability. 


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1 (I) Strengthening rule-of-law and anti-cor2 ruption efforts. 

3 (J) Addressing the PRC’s coercive eco4 nomic actions. 

5 (4) An assessment of NATO engagement in the 

6 region and policy options to address the changed re7 gional security environment, including NATO’s pres8 ence in the region and an outline of NATO’s 

9 planned and recent military exercises in the region, 

10 in particular those under Headquarters Multi11 national Division Southeast (in Romania) and the 

12 four new battle groups in Romania, Bulgaria, Hun13 gary, and Slovakia. 

14 SEC. 5. UNITED STATES POLICY. 

15 It is the policy of the United States to— 

16 (1) actively deter the threat of further Russian 

17 escalation in the Black Sea region and defend free18 dom of navigation in the Black Sea to prevent the 

19 spread of further armed conflict in Europe; 

20 (2) advocate within NATO, among NATO al21 lies, and within the European Union to develop a 

22 long-term coordinated strategy to enhance security, 

23 establish a permanent, sustainable presence in the 

24 eastern flank, and bolster the democratic resilience 

25 of United States allies and partners in the region; 


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1 (3) support and bolster the economic ties be2 tween the United States and Black Sea partners, 

3 and mobilize the United States International Devel4 opment Finance Corporation, the Export-Import 

5 Bank, the Trade and Development Agency, the De6 partment of State, the United States Agency for 

7 International Development, the Department of Agri8 culture, and the Department of Commerce to in9 crease United States presence and investment in 

10 Black Sea countries; 

11 (4) provide economic alternatives to the PRC’s 

12 coercive economic options that destabilize and fur13 ther erode economic integration of the Black Sea lit14 toral states; 

15 (5) ensure that the United States continues to 

16 support Black Sea countries to strengthen their 

17 democratic institutions to prevent corruption and ac18 celerate their advancement into the Euroatlantic 

19 community; and 

20 (6) encourage the initiative undertaken by cen21 tral and eastern European states to advance the 

22 Three Seas Initiative to strengthen transport, en23 ergy, and digital infrastructure connectivity in the 

24 region between the Adriatic Sea, Baltic Sea, and 

25 Black Sea. 


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1 SEC. 6. BLACK SEA SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT STRAT2 EGY. 

3 (a) BLACK SEA DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY

4 STRATEGY.—No later than 360 days after the enactment 

5 of this Act, drawing from the policy options developed in 

6 the report in section 4, the National Security Council, in 

7 coordination with the Department of State, the Depart8 ment of Defense, the United States International Develop9 ment Finance Corporation, the United States Agency for 

10 International Development, the United States Export-Im11 port Bank, the Trade and Development Agency the De12 partment of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the 

13 Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the 

14 Treasury, shall direct an interagency strategy, based on 

15 the findings of the report under section 4, to increase mili16 tary assistance and coordination with NATO and the Eu17 ropean Union, deepen economic ties, strengthen economic 

18 and energy security and enhance security assistance with 

19 Black Sea countries, and support efforts to bolster their 

20 democratic resilience. 

21 (b) PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES.—The initiative es22 tablished under subsection (a) shall have the following 

23 goals and objectives: 

24 (1) Ensuring the efficient and effective delivery 

25 of security assistance to the Black Sea states, 

26 prioritizing assistance that will bolster defenses 


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1 against hybrid warfare and improve interoperability 

2 with NATO forces. 

3 (2) Bolstering United States support for the re4 gion’s energy security and integration with Europe 

5 and reducing their dependence on Russia while sup6 porting energy diversification. 

7 (3) Mitigating the impact of economic coercion 

8 by the Russian Federation and the PRC on Black 

9 Sea states and identifying new opportunities for for10 eign direct investment from the United States and 

11 cooperating countries and the enhancement of 

12 United States business ties. 

13 (4) Increasing high-level engagement between 

14 the United States and the Black Sea states, and re15 inforcing economic growth, financing quality infra16 structure, and reinforcing trade with a focus on im17 proving high-level economic cooperation. 

18 (5) Increasing coordination with the European 

19 Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

20 to maximize effectiveness and minimize duplication. 

21 (c) ACTIVITIES.— 

22 (1) SECURITY.—The strategy established under 

23 subsection (a) shall include the following elements 

24 related to security: 


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1 (A) A plan to increase interagency coordi2 nation toward the Black Sea region. 

3 (B) A strategy for— 

4 (i) the United States to increase 

5 NATO’s presence and capabilities in the 

6 Black Sea region, including land and air 

7 forces; or 

8 (ii) a United States-led initiative with 

9 NATO member countries to increase co10 ordination, presence, and regional engage11 ment among Black Sea countries. 

12 (C) A strategy to increase military assist13 ance toward Black Sea countries, particularly 

14 Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia. 

15 (D) Prioritization of intelligence, surveil16 lance, and reconnaissance systems to monitor 

17 Russian operations in the Black Sea region, as 

18 well as upgrading from air policing to air de19 fense missions. 

20 (E) An assessment of the value of estab21 lishing a joint, multinational three-star head22 quarters on the Black Sea, responsible for plan23 ning, readiness, exercises, and coordination of 

24 all military activity in the greater Black Sea re25 gion. 


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1 (F) An overview of Foreign Military Fi2 nancing, International Military Education and 

3 Training, and other United States security as4 sistance to the region. 

5 (G) A plan for communicating the changes 

6 to NATO posture to the public in allied and 

7 partner countries, as well as in the Russian 

8 Federation and Belarus. 

9 (H) A plan for combating Russian 

10 disinformation and propaganda in the Black 

11 Sea region, utilizing the resources of the United 

12 States Government, including the Global En13 gagement Center. 

14 (I) A plan to promote greater freedom of 

15 navigation, working primarily with Turkey, 

16 Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria to allow for 

17 greater security and economic Black Sea access. 

18 (2) ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.—The strategy es19 tablished under subsection (a) shall include the fol20 lowing elements related to economic prosperity: 

21 (A) A strategy to foster dialogue between 

22 experts from the United States and from the 

23 Black Sea states on economic expansion, for24 eign direct investment, strengthening rule of 


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1 law initiatives, and mitigating economic coer2 cion by Russia and the PRC. 

3 (B) A strategy for the United States Inter4 national Development Finance Corporation and 

5 all Federal departments and agencies that con6 tribute to United States economic statecraft to 

7 identify new opportunities for private invest8 ment in Black Sea states. 

9 (C) An evaluation undertaken by United 

10 States International Development Finance Cor11 poration to establish regional offices in Georgia, 

12 Ukraine, or Romania. 

13 (D) Assessments on energy diversification. 

14 The assessment should focus on the immediate 

15 need to replace energy supplies from Russia, 

16 and recognize the long-term importance of 

17 broader energy diversification, including clean 

18 energy initiatives. 

19 (E) Assessments of potential food security 

20 solutions. 

21 (3) DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE.—The strategy 

22 established under subsection (a) shall include the 

23 following elements related to democratic resilience: 

24 (A) A strategy to increase independent 

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1 tiatives to combat foreign malign influence in 

2 the Black Sea region. 

3 (B) Greater mobilization of initiatives 

4 spearheaded by the Global Engagement Center 

5 and the United States Agency for International 

6 Development to counter Russian propaganda 

7 and disinformation in the Black Sea region. 

8 (4) REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY.—The strategy 

9 established under subsection (a) shall promote re10 gional connectivity by sending high-level representa11 tives of the Department of State or other agency 

12 partners to— 

13 (A) the Black Sea region not less fre14 quently than twice a year; and 

15 (B) major regional fora on infrastructure 

16 and energy security, including the Three Seas 

17 Initiative Summit. 

18 (d) IDENTIFICATION OF NECESSARY PROGRAMS AND

19 RESOURCES.—No later than 360 days after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act, the interagency shall identify 

21 any necessary program, policy, or budgetary resources re22 quired, by agency, to support implementation of the Black 

23 Sea Security Strategy for fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 

24 2026. 


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1 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

7 the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

8 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 

9 and 

10 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

11 Committee on Armed Services, and the Com12 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep13 resentatives. 

14 (2) BLACK SEA STATES.—The term ‘‘Black Sea 

15 states’’ means Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, 

16 Ukraine, and Georgia. 

17 (3) THREE SEAS INITIATIVE INVESTMENT

18 FUND COUNTRIES.— The term ‘‘Three Seas Initia19 tive Investment Fund countries’’ means Estonia, 

20 Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slo21 vakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Roma22 nia, and Bulgaria. 

Æ 


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