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.
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.
Three minehunting ships from each country and one command-control ship will be assigned to the initiative, a Turkish Ministry of National Defence official said.
The initiative is open to only the three countries, whose naval commanders will form a committee to run the operation, Guler said, adding that it might include other Black Sea states after the war ends.
Last week, Turkey said it would not allow two minehunter vessels donated to Ukraine by Britain to transit its waters en route to the Black Sea because it would violate the 1936 Montreux Convention, an international pact concerning wartime passage of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles strait.
At the start of the Ukraine war, Turkey enacted the convention to block the passage of Russian or Ukrainian ships through the two straits and also told non-Black Sea states not to send warships.
Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for stray mines that have washed up along Black Sea coasts.
