I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1680 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2023 

Mr. KEATING (for himself and Mr. TURNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

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 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BLACK SEA SECURITY. 

7 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that— 

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

10 support efforts to prevent the spread of further 


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1 armed conflict in Europe by recognizing the Black 

2 Sea region as an arena of Russian aggression; 

3 (2) littoral states of the Black Sea are critical 

4 in countering aggression by the Government of the 

5 Russian Federation and contributing to the collec6 tive security of NATO; 

7 (3) the repeated, illegal, unprovoked, and vio8 lent attempts of the Russian Federation to expand 

9 its territory and control access to the Mediterranean 

10 Sea through the Black Sea constitutes a threat to 

11 the national security of the United States and 

12 NATO; 

13 (4) the United States condemns attempts by 

14 the Russian Federation to change or alter bound15 aries in the Black Sea region by force or any means 

16 contrary to international law and to impose a sphere 

17 of influence across the region; 

18 (5) the United States and its allies should 

19 robustly counter Russia’s illegitimate territorial 

20 claims on the Crimean Peninsula, along Ukraine’s 

21 territorial waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of 

22 Azov, in the Black Sea’s international waters, and in 

23 the territories it is illegally occupying in Ukraine; 

24 (6) the United States should continue to work 

25 within NATO and with NATO Allies to develop a 


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1 long-term strategy to enhance security, establish a 

2 permanent, sustainable presence along NATO’s east3 ern flank, and bolster the democratic resilience of its 

4 allies and partners in the region; 

5 (7) the United States should work within 

6 NATO and with NATO Allies to develop a regular, 

7 rotational maritime presence in the Black Sea; 

8 (8) the United States should also work with the 

9 European Union on coordinating a strategy to sup10 port democratic initiatives and economic prosperity 

11 in the region, which includes two European Union 

12 members and four European Union aspirant nations; 

13 (9) Turkey’s behavior towards some regional al14 lies and democratic states has been counter15 productive and has contributed to increased tensions 

16 in the region, and Turkey should avoid any actions 

17 to further escalate regional tensions; 

18 (10) the United States should work to foster 

19 dialogue among countries within the Black Sea re20 gion to improve communication and intelligence 

21 sharing and increase cyber defense capabilities; 

22 (11) countries with historic and economic ties 

23 to Russia are looking to the United States and Eu24 rope to provide a positive economic presence in the 


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1 broader region as a counterbalance to the Russian 

2 Federation’s malign influence in the region; 

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

4 to support and bolster the economic ties between the 

5 United States and Black Sea states; 

6 (13) the United States should support the ini7 tiative undertaken by central and eastern European 

8 states to advance the Three Seas Initiative Fund to 

9 strengthen transport, energy, and digital infrastruc10 ture connectivity in the region between the Adriatic 

11 Sea, Baltic Sea, and Black Sea; 

12 (14) there are mutually beneficial opportunities 

13 for increased investment and economic expansion, 

14 particularly on energy, climate, and transport infra15 structure initiatives, between the United States and 

16 Black Sea states and the broader region; 

17 (15) improved economic ties between the United 

18 States and the Black Sea states and the broader re19 gion can lead to a strengthened strategic partner20 ship; 

21 (16) the United States must seek to address 

22 the food security challenges arising from disruption 

23 of Ukraine’s Black Sea and Azov Sea ports, as this 

24 global challenge will have critical national security 


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1 implications for the United States, our partners, and 

2 allies; 

3 (17) Turkey, in coordination with the United 

4 Nations, has played an important role in alleviating 

5 global food insecurity by negotiating two agreements 

6 to allow grain exports from Ukrainian ports through 

7 a safe corridor in the Black Sea; 

8 (18) Russia has a brutal history of using hun9 ger as a weapon and must be stopped; 

10 (19) countering the PRC’s coercive economic 

11 pursuits remains an important policy imperative in 

12 order to further integrate the Black Sea states into 

13 western economies and improve regional stability; 

14 and 

15 (20) Turkey’s continued delay in ratifying Swe16 den and Finland’s accession to NATO undermines 

17 the strength of the alliance and inhibits the united 

18 international response to Russia’s unprovoked war in 

19 Ukraine. 

20 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY. 

21 It is the policy of the United States to— 

22 (1) actively deter the threat of Russia’s further 

23 escalation in the Black Sea region and defend free24 dom of navigation in the Black Sea to prevent the 

25 spread of further armed conflict in Europe; 


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1 (2) advocate within NATO, among NATO Al2 lies, and within the European Union to develop a 

3 long-term coordinated strategy to enhance security, 

4 establish a permanent, sustainable presence in the 

5 eastern flank, and bolster the democratic resilience 

6 of United States allies and partners in the region; 

7 (3) advocate within NATO and among NATO 

8 Allies to develop a regular, rotational maritime pres9 ence in the Black Sea; 

10 (4) support and bolster the economic ties be11 tween the United States and Black Sea partners and 

12 mobilize the Department of State, the Department 

13 of Defense, and other relevant Federal departments 

14 and agencies by enhancing the United States pres15 ence and investment in Black Sea states; 

16 (5) provide economic alternatives to the PRC’s 

17 coercive economic options that destabilize and fur18 ther erode economic integration of the Black Sea 

19 states; 

20 (6) ensure that the United States continues to 

21 support Black Sea states’ efforts to strengthen their 

22 democratic institutions to prevent corruption and ac23 celerate their advancement into the Euroatlantic 

24 community; and 


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1 (7) encourage the initiative undertaken by cen2 tral and eastern European states to advance the 

3 Three Seas Initiative to strengthen transport, en4 ergy, and digital infrastructure connectivity in the 

5 region between the Adriatic Sea, Baltic Sea, and 

6 Black Sea. 

7 SEC. 4. BLACK SEA SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT STRAT8 EGY. 

9 (a) BLACK SEA SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT

10 STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act, the National Security Council, 

12 in coordination with the Department of State, the Depart13 ment of Defense, and other relevant Federal departments 

14 and agencies, is authorized to direct an interagency strat15 egy to increase coordination with NATO and the Euro16 pean Union, deepen economic ties, strengthen energy secu17 rity, support efforts to bolster their democratic resilience, 

18 and enhance security assistance with our regional partners 

19 in accordance with the values and interests of the United 

20 States. 

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 

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1 ance with the values and interests of the United 

2 States, prioritizing assistance that will bolster de3 fenses against hybrid warfare and improve interoper4 ability with NATO forces. 

5 (2) Bolstering United States support for the re6 gion’s energy security and integration with Europe 

7 and reducing their dependence on Russia while sup8 porting energy diversification. 

9 (3) Mitigating the impact of economic coercion 

10 by the Russian Federation and the PRC on Black 

11 Sea states and identifying new opportunities for for12 eign direct investment from the United States and 

13 cooperating countries and the enhancement of 

14 United States business ties with regional partners in 

15 accordance with the values and interests of the 

16 United States. 

17 (4) Increasing high-level engagement between 

18 the United States and regional partners, and rein19 forcing economic growth, financing quality infra20 structure, and reinforcing trade with a focus on im21 proving high-level economic cooperation. 

22 (5) Increasing United States coordination with 

23 the European Union and NATO to maximize effec24 tiveness and minimize duplication. 

25 (c) ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 (1) SECURITY.—The strategy established under 

2 subsection (a) should include the following elements 

3 related to security: 

4 (A) A plan to increase interagency coordi5 nation on the Black Sea region. 

6 (B) An assessment of whether a United 

7 States-led initiative with NATO allies to in8 crease coordination, presence, and regional en9 gagement among Black Sea states is advisable. 

10 (C) A strategy to increase security assist11 ance toward Black Sea states, focused on 

12 Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and 

13 Georgia. 

14 (D) Prioritization of intelligence, surveil15 lance, and reconnaissance systems to monitor 

16 Russia’s operations in the Black Sea region. 

17 (E) An assessment of the value of estab18 lishing a joint, multinational three-star head19 quarters on the Black Sea, responsible for plan20 ning, readiness, exercises, and coordination of 

21 all Allied and partner military activity in the 

22 greater Black Sea region. 

23 (F) An assessment of the challenges and 

24 opportunities of establishing a regular, rota25 tional NATO maritime presence in the Black 


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1 Sea, including an analysis of the capacity, capa2 bilities, and commitment of NATO members to 

3 create this type of mission. 

4 (G) An overview of Foreign Military Fi5 nancing, International Military Education and 

6 Training, and other United States security as7 sistance to the region. 

8 (H) A plan for communicating the changes 

9 to NATO posture to the public in allied and 

10 partner countries, as well as to publics in the 

11 Russian Federation and Belarus. 

12 (I) A plan for combating Russian 

13 disinformation and propaganda in the Black 

14 Sea region, utilizing the resources of the United 

15 States Government, including the Global En16 gagement Center. 

17 (J) A plan to promote greater freedom of 

18 navigation to allow for greater security and eco19 nomic Black Sea access. 

20 (2) ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.—The strategy es21 tablished under subsection (a) shall include the fol22 lowing elements related to economic prosperity: 

23 (A) A strategy to foster dialogue between 

24 experts from the United States and from the 

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1 eign direct investment, strengthening rule of 

2 law initiatives, and mitigating economic coer3 cion by Russia and the PRC. 

4 (B) A strategy for all the relevant Federal 

5 departments and agencies that contribute to 

6 United States economic statecraft to expand 

7 their presence and identify new opportunities 

8 for private investment with regional partners in 

9 accordance with the values and interests of the 

10 United States. 

11 (C) Assessments on energy diversification, 

12 focusing on the immediate need to replace en13 ergy supplies from Russia, and recognizing the 

14 long-term importance of broader energy diver15 sification, including clean energy initiatives. 

16 (D) Assessments of potential food security 

17 solutions, including sustainable, long-term ar18 rangements beyond the Black Sea Grain Initia19 tive. 

20 (3) DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE.—The strategy 

21 established under subsection (a) shall include the 

22 following elements related to democratic resilience: 

23 (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.—Not 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 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS

2 AND AGENCIES.—Nothing under this section shall be 

3 deemed to authorize the National Security Council to as4 sume any of the responsibilities or authorities of the head 

5 of any Federal department, agency, or office, including the 

6 foreign affairs responsibilities and authorities of the Sec7 retary of State, to oversee the implementation of programs 

8 and policies under this section. 

9 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

15 the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

16 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 

17 and 

18 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

19 Committee on Armed Services, and the Com20 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep21 resentatives. 

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

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

24 Ukraine, and Georgia. 

Æ 


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