Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania signed an agreement on demining the Black Sea

The “Black Sea Mine Action Task Force Memorandum of Understanding” (MCM Black Sea) was signed between Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey as a trilateral initiative against the mine threat posed in the Black Sea by Ukrainian Navy mining.

As stated in previous news, NATO countries that do not have a coastline in the Black Sea will not be included in it.

Yasar Güler: “We have carefully, responsibly and impartially implemented and continue to implement the Montreux Straits Convention, which is of great importance for the security of the region. We thank all states that have so far complied with the rules of the Montreux Convention and expect the same sensitivity from all states from now on.”

Once the agreement is signed, the operational planning process will begin, aimed at developing detailed documents and instructions for the group’s actions. This process can take up to several months.

After the outbreak of full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish military diving teams mines are regularly cleared, drifting in their waters. In October, it became known for the first time that these three countries discussing the creation of joint forces for cleaning the Black Sea from mines.

The mine-sweeping force would not be considered a NATO operation, but would be the first major joint action by the Black Sea allies since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In the Black Sea, after the outbreak of hostilities, at least 2 explosions of commercial ships on sea mines were recorded. The latest incident was recorded on November 17, when a ship transporting grain from Odessa was damaged in the Black Sea, probably by hitting a mine. We are talking about a bulk carrier Georgia S, which flew the flag of Liberia from the port of Odessa with a cargo of wheat, heading to the Romanian port of Constanta. A month earlier Turkish cargo ship hit a mine in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania, receiving minor damage.

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