The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), which shareholders are both Ukraine and Russia, hopes that hostilities in Ukraine will cease and a peaceful settlement will be reached as soon as possible.

Peace is a vital condition for cooperation, the bank said in a statement on its website.

According to it, the BSTDB is firmly committed to ensure the continued ability of the bank to fulfill its mandate to promote development and cooperation in the region.

The Bank will closely monitor the development of the situation and respond accordingly, the statement said without specifying details.

The BSTDB is an international organization uniting 11 states of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. The shares of Turkey, the Russian Federation and Greece in the capital are 16.5% each, Romania – 14%, Ukraine and Bulgaria – 13.5% each, Azerbaijan – 5%, Albania – 2%, Armenia – 1%, and Georgia and Moldova – each 0.5%. The Bank is aimed at promoting economic cooperation, trade and cooperation of the countries of the Black Sea region.