Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria to create a joint force to clear naval mines

Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria are discussing the creation of a joint force to clear naval mines in the Black Sea.

Bloomberg reported on this.

Negotiations on the development of such a unit are being conducted in a closed format. It is reported that it could be set up as early as next month.

With Russia’s attacks on Ukraine getting ever closer to NATO’s borders, the alliance is trying to balance its response to the incidents to avoid further escalation with Russia.

The sea brings naval mines to the coasts of these countries, and the decreased security of trade routes forces them to strengthen defense measures.

While not a NATO operation as such, the joint force to clear naval mines would be the first major combined effort among allies in the Black Sea since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

It comes at a time when the allies are facing Russia’s increasingly provocative behavior in the region.

According to two anonymous officials, the new force is intended to be entirely peaceful and won’t bring any new NATO vessels to the sea.

One of the mission’s goals is to demonstrate that the three countries are capable of addressing the problem themselves.

The Turkish government declined to comment. The Romanian and Bulgarian defense ministries did not immediately respond to requests.

Since the beginning of the war, NATO allies have stepped up surveillance and reconnaissance in the region, but not their maritime activity.

Turkey refers to an international agreement that allows the passage of warships belonging only to Black Sea littoral states, and to prevent an escalation of the conflict, Turkey does not allow other vessels, even NATO allies, to pass.

Fighting in the Black Sea threatens commercial shipping in the region.

Militarnyi previously reported that a Turkish-flagged cargo ship hit a mine in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania.