Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria start de-mining work in Black Sea
Командувачі ВМС Туреччини, Румунії та Болгарії на засіданні MCM Black Sea Фото: Скриншот / ANKA Haber Ajansı
The operational group of mine countermeasures in the Black Sea (MCM Black Sea), which includes Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, became operational on July 1.
Bloomberg and Fakty write about it, Rubryka reports.
On Monday, July 1, the committee of the Operational Group on mine action in the Black Sea met in Istanbul, with the participation of the commanders of the Turkish, Bulgarian, and Romanian navies.
The Task Force's "activation ceremony" is planned for Istanbul, as the initiative operates under Turkish leadership. The anti-mine group will begin performing tasks as early as July 2.
MCM Black Sea is the first major joint action of the Black Sea states after Russia's invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, aimed at disarming mines drifting into certain areas of the Black Sea as a result of the war.
In January, the countries signed a corresponding memorandum on the joint fight against the mine threat in the Black Sea against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
According to the agreement, the organizational structure will include a committee consisting of the commanders of the navies of the three countries. It will make unanimous decisions regarding the activities of the target group and regarding the admission to the organization of other coastal partner countries, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions and already after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
"We consider the possible contribution of our other allies to this initiative valuable. However, this initiative will [currently] only be open to the ships of the three coastal allied countries," Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler said.
In particular, NATO welcomed the decision to create such a group.
"We welcome the fact that Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey are working together against the threat of mines in the Black Sea. This is an important contribution to greater freedom of navigation and food security in the region and beyond," NATO spokesman Dylan White said in a statement.
It will be recalled that plans to create a demining coalition became known in December 2023. At that time, foreign media wrote that the mission was planned as completely "peaceful" and did not involve deploying any new NATO ships to sea. The initiative's goal is to show that the three countries can solve problems independently.
Also, as Rubryka reported, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey want to involve other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance in demining the Black Sea.
The countries are planning to create a joint fleet that will deal with mine clearance in parts of the Black Sea near Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria. Explosive munitions are getting there because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It is noted that the initiative remains open for joint actions and the participation of mine countermeasures forces and means of other NATO member states located outside the Black Sea region. The mission will begin shortly after the signing of the agreement. Thus, the anti-mine group will create safe conditions for civilian ships to sail in the Black Sea, minimizing the risk of explosions.
According to Dmytro Pletenchuk, the spokesman of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the global demining operation may last several years because, even now, they are facing samples of weapons from WWI and WWII.
Demining trade routes will take three to five months. After all, this is very detailed work requiring special trawlers and equipment, and it will be difficult for Ukraine to carry out this operation.
The defense ministers of Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania have signed an agreement to jointly combat sea mines, which pose a threat to shipping in the Black Sea, following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
