Black Sea demining: three NATO countries call to join the initiative
8.01.2024 - 09:55
Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey called on other countries to join the Black Sea demining initiative.
“Currently, the mine countermeasures ships of the three Black Sea NATO member states – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – will participate in the mine countermeasure naval group in the Black Sea,” – reports Euractiv with reference to the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria.
The initiative remains open for joint actions and participation of mine countermeasures forces and means of other NATO member countries outside the Black Sea region.
The Bulgarian government emphasizes that the group’s activities will not be directed against any other country. It is expected that the Black Sea demining operation will help improve interaction and good neighborly relations between the participants.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey is to take place in Istanbul on Thursday, January 11.
After that, an operational planning process should begin, aimed at developing detailed documents and instructions for the group’s actions. This process can take up to several months.
