site.btaBulgaria, Romania and Turkiye to Sign Memorandum for Establishment of Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in Black Sea

Deputy Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov will travel to Turkiye, where he will sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkiye on the creation of a Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea (MCM Black Sea), said the Ministry of Defence press centre.

The official signing will take place on January 11 in Istanbul.

The decision to approve the Memorandum from the Bulgarian side was taken at a government meeting on December 13, 2023.

The establishment of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Naval Group (MCM Black Sea) was initiated by Turkiye in August 2023 with the main task of ensuring the safety of the sea routes in the Black Sea from drifting mines and countering the mine threat that arose after the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the announcement states.

The activities of MCM Black Sea are entirely peaceful in nature and are not directed against any other country. It is expected to help improve interaction and good-neighbourly relations between the participants, without replacing NATO's presence and ongoing deterrence and defence activities in the Black Sea region.

The war in Ukraine, started by Russia, leads to risks to the security in the region, especially regarding shipping, and in order to minimize these risks, the navies of the three countries will be involved in clearing drifting mines, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said at the beginning of the month.