Civil council on Defense and Security (CCDS) took part in the meetings of the US-Black Sea Nonproliferation Professional Exchange Group held in Monterey, USA on 4-8 March 2024. The group, composed of 20 mid-career experts in nonproliferation from Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States, convened for their fourth meeting, hosted this time at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) headquarters. The objective of such meetings is to exchange national and regional viewpoints on the hybrid threats confronting their respective nations and the broader region, as well as to formulate necessary measures pertaining to non-proliferation, regional and international security.
 
   The Monterrey Module comprised a blend of activities, presentations, brainstorming sessions and site visits, all aimed at nurturing ongoing collaboration between counterparts from the US and the Black Sea region. Discussions with CNS and the Naval Postgraduate School faculty covered various topics, including threats emanating from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and their implications for non-proliferation efforts in the Black Sea region, Russia's dissemination of disinformation about Georgia, particularly concerning its biological laboratory, security challenges in Moldova and Transnistria and other persisting threats in the Black Sea region.