SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The U.S. secretary of state assured allies bordering the Black Sea on Monday that they could depend on his country’s support to make the region more secure, prosperous and integrated.

Addressing the attendees of the Second Black Sea Security Conference in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, via a video feed, Anthony Blinken underscored the importance of investing in the region’s security to ensure peace and freedom across Europe.

Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula — on the northern coast of the Black Sea — in 2014. It has served as a key hub supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine which President Vladimir Putin ordered in Feb. 2022.

“Putin believed that Ukraine’s neighbors in the region would be divided, but he was wrong,” Blinken said, adding that “the United States will continue to support Ukraine both so it can defend itself today and stand on its feet.”