Romania sang the ballad of the Black Sea's strategic importance long before Crimea's 2014 annexation by Russia. In its efforts to join NATO (in 2004) and the European Union (in 2007), Bucharest sold itself as a key geostrategic player based on its seafront property, and a loyal ally. Bucharest offered the West territorial access to a region both vital in connecting Eurasia to the Mediterranean and Middle East and rich in energy resources. By establishing a Western foothold in the Black Sea basin, Romania sought to resolve its own security shortfalls.
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