NATO allies Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria sign deal to clear Black Sea mines
Al Jazeera
Initiative limited to three nations aims to make shipping safer, including for vessels transporting grain from Ukraine.
Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria have signed an agreement to clear mines drifting in the Black Sea that have posed a threat to shipping since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said the deal establishes a Mine Countermeasures Task Group among the three NATO allies to deal with the mines as he met in Istanbul with his Romanian counterpart, Angel Tilvar, and Bulgarian Deputy Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov.
Zapryanov said mines pose a “danger to ports, communication networks and key water infrastructure” while Tilvar added that Russia’s “disdain for the norms of international law and its aggression in the Black Sea is not only a regional problem but also a problem with global consequences”.
Sea mines have posed a threat to Ukraine’s Black Sea export routes since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and several commercial ships have been hit, including a bulk carrier heading to a Danube River port to load grain in December.
Ukraine has two main ports on the Danube – Reni and Izmail – which have become central to the country’s grain exports since Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and Moscow’s withdrawal in July from a United Nations-backed agreement that had allowed grain shipments safe passage across the Black Sea.
