Turkiye, Romania, Bulgaria sign deal to clear Black Sea mines

Turkiye, Romania and Bulgaria have signed an agreement on a joint plan to clear mines floating in the Black Sea as a result of the war in Ukraine, Reuters has reported. The deal was signed today by Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, his Romanian counterpart Angel Tilvar and Bulgaria’s Deputy Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov following months of talks between the NATO allies.

The war in Ukraine started in 2014 when the elected president was overthrown, which Russia condemned as a coup. Moscow annexed Crimea, essential for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has its headquarters in Sebastopol.

The annexation of the peninsula came after pro-Russia unrest in the east of Ukraine, which saw separatist forces declare the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was an extension of this war, ostensibly as a reaction to the expansion of NATO towards the borders of Russia.

Moscow has been accused of laying mines in the Black Sea to hinder Ukrainian grain exports. Ukraine is known as the “bread basket of Europe” and is one of the world’s largest exporters of grain. Indeed, restrictions on grain exports have created global shortages since the Russian invasion.

All ships going to or from the Black Sea have to pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits, both of which are international waterways even though they pass through Turkiye.

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