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Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey To Sign Memorandum On Black Sea Demining Operation

By RFE/RL's Romanian Service January 10, 2024

The defense ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey are set to sign an agreement to form a group that will oversee joint demining operations in their territorial waters in the Black Sea, Romanian and Bulgarian officials of countries said on January 10.

The ministers on January 11 will sign a memorandum of understanding in Istanbul establishing Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea (MCM Black Sea), which will oversee demining missions' operations, the officials said.

"MCM Black Sea's activities are entirely peaceful in nature and are not directed against any other country," the Bulgarian Defense Ministry said.

"It is expected to help improve interaction and good neighborly relations between the participants, without replacing NATO's presence and ongoing deterrence and defense activities in the Black Sea area," it added.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced last month that the memorandum would be signed on January 11 after months of talks between the NATO member nations.

Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar confirmed that he will participate in the signing of the memorandum together with his Bulgarian and Turkish counterparts.

A text of the agreement has not been made public, but a NATO source told RFE/RL's Romanian Service that the agreement provides for the demining of the territorial waters of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey with their own means and possibly the demining of exclusive economic zones.

"Other allies could also participate with different assets, and this is Romania's great gain," the source said.

Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu told RFE/RL's Romanian Service that, while the first stage of the project is "trilateral," it is open to the participation of other partners.

The operation will deploy demining ships, patrol ships, helicopters, and drones from the air. Turkey is expected to play the largest role because it has the most ships capable of demining operations. Romania will participate with demining ships, helicopters, drones, and divers.

Mines in the Black Sea laid by Russia have endangered shipping and are complicating Ukraine's efforts to break through a Russian naval blockade. In the second part of 2023, several mines either hit ships in traffic or washed up on Romanian and Bulgarian shores.

The last known incident occurred on December 27 when a cargo ship heading to a Ukrainian port to load grain hit a mine and a fire broke out on board. Two people were injured, according to Ukrainian authorities.

In announcing that an agreement had been reached on the memorandum of understanding, Guler said on December 16 that mines had reached the Turkish straits.

"Because of the Ukraine-Russia war, there are mines placed in both Ukrainian and Russian ports. They also reach our straits because of the currents," Guler said.

"Our demining ships will carry out constant patrols until the point where the maritime borders of Romania end," he added.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, almost 90 floating mines have been destroyed in the Black Sea, most of them by Ukrainian forces. Five mines have been destroyed by Romanian naval forces.

With reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/black-sea-demining-romania- bulgaria-turkey/32769056.html

Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.