The Black Sea must remain open and not controlled by one state or another, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said.

"Regarding the Black Sea: Romania is a NATO ally. And thus, being a Black Sea state and strengthening the eastern flank, Romania has the greatest security guarantees in its entire history. But it is clear that NATO's eastern flank needs to be strengthened further," he said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bucharest on Tuesday.

Therefore, as Iohannis noted, "for this we need to pay due attention to the Black Sea – and we are doing this."

"Both within NATO and today with President Zelenskyy, we discussed how best to cooperate in the Black Sea region. We consider it important that the Black Sea remains an open sea, not controlled by one or another. It is open to everyone who has access to the Black Sea, so that use it as specified in international treaties," he said.