ISTANBUL - ``Our target is to work together with our friends and allies in the Black Sea region and advocate cooperation and security,`` U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Ross Wilson said on Thursday.
Taking the floor at ``Ari Movement 8th International Security Conference``, a two-day conference where democratization and security in the Black Sea will be assessed, Wilson said, ``United States wishes that the Black Sea would be a secure, prosperous, peaceful and free region.``
Wilson indicated that his country wants number of democratic countries to rise in the Black Sea region.
Underlining the importance of supremacy of law, Wilson said, ``as a heritage of a less democratic past, there is still insecurity, corruption and inadequate management in the region.``
Wilson pointed out that the region has the biggest and new oil and natural gas resources of the world, and noted that Turkish straits were very important as transit route.
``More than 50 years, we have been in alliance with Turkey, a Black Sea littoral country,`` Wilson said adding that, ``NATO will continue to be a side ensuring fundamental security in the European Atlantic Region.``
Mentioning the Montreux Treaty, Wilson said they fully respect Montreux Treaty and their target is not to establish a permanent fleet in the Black Sea and enter this region directly but to work together with their friends and allies and support cooperation and security.