Türkiye, Romania, Bulgaria to protect critical infrastructure in Black Sea
Türkiye, Romania and Bulgaria have agreed to expand the mandate of a trilateral maritime force in the Black Sea in a way to protect critical undersea infrastructure, including the pipelines and other facilities.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts, Radu-Dinel Miruța and Dimitar Stoyanov, on July 8 on the sidelines of the NATO’s Ankara summit.
According to sources, the ministers signed an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Mine Countermeasures Black Sea (MCM Black Sea) Task Group, expanding its mandate to include the protection of the three countries’ critical undersea infrastructure in the Black Sea.
The move comes after maritime security in the Black Sea was disrupted by increased attacks by Russia and Ukraine and with concerns that the ongoing war would damage the existing infrastructure.
