Bulgaria and Romania should jointly raise the issue of shipping security in the Black Sea with NATO after reports of attacked commercial ships off the Bulgarian coast. This was stated by former Deputy Defense Minister Yordan Bozhilov to bTV.
According to preliminary and still officially unconfirmed information, two ships were hit in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. It is reported that one sank and one person was rescued, while 15 people from the second were taken to the port of Varna.
Bozhilov described the latest incident as a serious escalation of tension in the Black Sea. According to him, the increased attacks could also pose an immediate risk to Bulgarian territorial waters.
Call for a common position in NATO
According to him, almost all commercial traffic in the Black Sea is now directed through the territorial waters of Bulgaria and Romania. He warned that in the event of new attacks, shipping could decrease drastically or almost entirely shift to these waters.
Bozhilov believes that Sofia and Bucharest should seek joint action with the other Black Sea NATO countries. As a possible format, he pointed to consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
„I think Bulgaria and Romania should jointly raise the issue in NATO. Maybe not for triggering Article 4, but for consultations“, he said.The former deputy minister specified that he did not rule out activating Article 4, which provides for consultations between allies in the event of a threat to the security of a member state. According to him, any such step must be supported by solid evidence and specific demands.
„A stronger position would be if Bulgaria and Romania, and possibly Turkey, raised the issue of the Black Sea, shipping and security“, Bozhilov emphasized.
A categorical assessment is needed
One of the affected ships flies the Maltese flag and, according to what was announced by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, is Ukrainian property. Bozhilov recalled that international maritime law distinguishes the powers of the flag state, the state of the shipowner and the coastal state.
According to him, Malta, as a member state of the European Union, has an interest in an investigation, and Bulgaria and Romania can coordinate their actions at the European level.
Bozhilov stated that Bulgaria should be more categorical in its assessment of what is happening. According to the data he has, there are over 150-160 cases of commercial ships carrying mainly Ukrainian cargo being hit, including in Ukrainian territorial waters and in sea areas off Romania.
“We should not consider these cases in isolation from all other similar ones. On this basis, a very clear conclusion can be drawn that Russia wants to suspend commercial shipping in the Black Sea in order to stop Ukraine's exports,“ said Bozhilov.
He pointed out that the next actions should be aimed at clarifying the facts surrounding the incidents and at a coordinated response with allies to ensure the security of commercial shipping.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg