Bulgaria and Romania with Turkey Begin Black Sea Mine Clearing Operation of Drifting Mines
The Turkish-led Black Sea Mine Action Initiative is the first major joint action by Black Sea countries since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is aimed at clearing mines drifting in some areas of the Black Sea as a result of the Russian war.
Bulgaria has stressed that the group's activities will not be directed against any other country, and the Black Sea mine clearance operation is expected to help improve cooperation and good neighbourly relations between the participants.
Ukraine is one of the key producers and exporters of grain, and the Russian war has threatened the safe passage of grain cargo through the Black Sea.
Despite Russia's war, Ukraine opened its own safe "corridor" in the Black Sea in August 2023 and has since exported 37.4 million tonnes of agricultural products from Odesa, Chornomorsk and the Pivdennyi port, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria are NATO members, but their navies are operated outside of NATO, in part to avoid escalation with Russia.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkish, Romanian and Bulgarian military diving teams have regularly cleared mines drifting in their territorial waters.
Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria signed an agreement to jointly combat sea mines in the Black Sea on 11 January this year.
As previously reported by The Gaze, in June, the Bulgarian Navy held its fourth annual diving exercise, codenamed Triton 2024, near the Varna naval base. The exercise was attended by naval personnel from Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, the United States and France, who specialise in the destruction and safe disposal of munitions underwater.
