BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's president says his country is a security provider in a region marked by uncertainty, unpredictability and security challenges.

President Klaus Iohannis didn't directly refer to Russia in comments made Tuesday in the Black Sea port of Constanta where thousands of sailors and others celebrated Navy Day.

U.S. and European exercises are being held in the Black Sea region this summer to beef up regional security and reassure allies after Russia annexed the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Iohannis called Romania a regional "pylon of stability and a provider of security." He said that Romania wants NATO and the European Union to recognize the Black Sea's strategic importance.

The president said the army needed to be "endowed and ready to participate in ensuring collective security with its allies."