Top defense officials of Türkiye, Romania and Bulgaria met in Istanbul on Thursday to sign an agreement on demining the Black Sea amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict endangering their territorial waters.
The Russian navy mined Ukraine's Black Sea coastline in the early stages of the conflict nearly two years ago. Some of the mines have since drifted into the waters of the three countries, endangering shipping and complicating Ukraine's efforts to break through a Russian naval blockade.
Top defense officials from Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Istanbul, establishing the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea (MCM Black Sea), which will oversee demining operations. Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar and Bulgaria's Deputy Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov joined their Turkish counterpart Yaşar Güler at a military residence overlooking the Bosporus for the signing ceremony.
"It is vital to be protected from security risks that war could cause," Güler said at the ceremony.
"With the start of the war, mines drifting in the Black Sea posed a threat. To overcome this, we have come this far with the joint efforts of our Bulgarian and Romanian allies," he added.
Earlier, the Romanian Defense Ministry said the initiative would have a rotating command structure and "contribute to strengthening the allied posture of deterrence and defense of the eastern flank."
The agreement should also make it possible to secure Ukrainian grain exports along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, an alternative navigation route put in place after a U.N.-brokered deal ended following Russian withdrawal in the summer of 2023. In December, Ukrainian authorities said a Panama-flagged ship arriving to collect grain hit a Russian naval mine in the Black Sea, injuring two sailors.
Güler emphasized that the initiative would involve only the ships of the three Black Sea littoral states, adding that other countries' contributions would be possible when conditions are met. Neither Russia nor Ukraine provided immediate comment.
"We are exerting efforts for regional and global security, peace and stability," Güler said.
The minister said Türkiye was already engaged in a series of efforts under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in light of the "Black Sea crisis."
"We carried out diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, deliver humanitarian relief, establish grain corridor and for a lasting peace," he said.
Türkiye controls the Black Sea maritime and naval traffic, which must pass Istanbul's Bosporus strait and the Çanakkale Strait before reaching the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
With the outbreak of war, Türkiye invoked a clause of an international treaty called the Montreux Convention banning the passage of naval vessels from non-littoral countries to and from the Black Sea. Güler said at the signing ceremony in Istanbul that they were implementing the convention carefully, responsibly and neutrally. He said Türkiye thanked all states for heeding the convention and said they expected all states to continue heeding it.
The measure prevented Britain from following through on plans last month to send two mine-hunting ships to the region to help Ukraine's efforts to export its grain.
The Turkish Presidency said early this month that Ankara, which has implemented the convention since 1936, "maintains its unwavering determination and principled stance throughout this war to prevent the escalation of tension in the Black Sea."
"Our pertinent allies have been duly apprised that the mine-hunting ships donated to Ukraine by the United Kingdom will not be allowed to pass through the Turkish Straits to the Black Sea as long as the war continues," it said.
