Bulgaria should request a European Union operation to protect commercial ships in the Black Sea. This was stated by former Minister of Defense Velizar Shalamanov in the program “Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov“ on NOVA NEWS.
“Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine are suffering huge economic losses, so we must request an operation from the European Union. And without close cooperation with Ukraine, the risks for our country are very high“, said Shalamanov.
The reason for his comment were the attacks on the container ship CONTSHIP JET in the Bulgarian economic zone of the Black Sea. According to data quoted by NOVA, the ship was hit by three drones, and about 12 hours later it sank about 16 nautical miles from Cape Kaliakra. The crew was rescued.
„Intelligence knows what the drone is“
Shalamanov said that Bulgarian intelligence, working with NATO and Ukraine, has a clear assessment of the type of drone and the moment of its launch.
„I am convinced that Bulgarian intelligence in cooperation with NATO and Ukraine has a very clear assessment of what the drone is and when it was launched“, said Velizar Shalamanov.According to him, the public announcement of this information can only be made by the Prime Minister and the President, but parliamentary pressure is also necessary. He described the attack and the ensuing controversy as part of an information war against Bulgaria.
Shalamanov also said that the strike was not carried out by a British drone. He linked his assessment to the fact that Russia has declared Bulgaria an enemy country, and there is a security agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Call for consultations under Article 4
The former defense minister believes that Bulgaria should have requested consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty a long time ago. This mechanism is triggered when an ally considers that its territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
According to him, the country must adopt clear rules for the use of force against drones targeting merchant ships and bring them into line with international law.
At the same time, Russia does not recognize the attacks. Shalamanov criticized the reaction of the Bulgarian authorities and explained it with “fear of Russia“, participation in the information war and the lack of sufficient knowledge of the actions in such situations.
Footage published by Maritime.bg shows an underwater drone moving parallel to the starboard side of the CONTSHIP JET before sharply turning towards the ship. The publication states that the authenticity of the video has been confirmed by three independent sources.
Sources: nova.bg, maritime.bg