A demining agreement was signed in the Black Sea

Within the scope of the “Triple Initiative” initiated with Romania and Bulgaria against the mine danger in the Black Sea, the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group Memorandum (MCM Black Sea) was signed in Kalender Kasr. In addition to Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Romanian Minister of Defense Angel Tilvar and Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Defense Mr. Atanas Zapryanov also attended the ceremony. Speaking after the signing of the memorandum, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler said that, as Turkey, they are making multifaceted efforts to establish regional and global security, peace and stability, and stated that the memorandum will also contribute to the relations of the three countries.

“We strive to establish regional and global security, peace and stability.”

Speaking at the program, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler said, “We have just signed the memorandum of understanding within the scope of the tripartite initiative we initiated with Romania and Bulgaria against the mine danger in the Black Sea under the leadership of our country. As Turkey, we are pleased to hold this signing ceremony that will contribute to regional security and stability in the Black Sea. On this occasion, Angel I would also like to express my great pleasure to host Tilvar and Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Defense Mr. Atanas Zapryanov in our country. As you know, after the war that started in Ukraine in February 2022, the Black Sea coastal countries were affected by this war in different ways. First of all, I would like to state that “As Turkey, we are making multifaceted efforts to establish regional and global security, peace and stability in this period when we are going through a sensitive period in which risks and threats increase and conflicts evolve into war,” he said.

“We implemented the Montreux Straits Convention in a responsible and impartial manner”

Güler continued his speech and said:

“After the crisis that emerged in the Black Sea, under the leadership of our President, we took diplomatic initiatives to end the conflicts, provide humanitarian aid, create a grain corridor and establish permanent peace. As Turkey, we signed the Montreux Straits Convention, which ensures the balance in the Black Sea and is of great importance for the security of the region.” We have implemented it carefully, responsibly and impartially. We will continue to do so. I would like to thank all the states that have complied with the rules of the Montreux Convention so far, and I would like to express that we expect the same sensitivity from all states from now on. With the start of the war, there was a crisis due to the mines drifting in the Black Sea. threat has occurred. In order to overcome this, we have come this far with joint efforts with our Bulgarian and Romanian allies. As a matter of fact, we have determined a strategic vision after the proposal we sent to our allies Romania and Bulgaria. In this context, we have established a mine countermeasures task group against the threat of mines drifting in the Black Sea. We agreed.”

“This initiative will only be open to ships of the three coastal allied countries.”

“Our delegations started negotiations in September. Our delegations worked intensively to implement this important initiative and made great progress in a short time,” said Güler.

“We jointly decided to sign a protocol between the three countries in order to fight more effectively against the mine danger in the Black Sea by improving our existing close cooperation and coordination. At this point, we would like to thank the Romanian and Bulgarian authorities, who quickly responded to our proposal and provided immediate support to the work with their expert personnel, based on the importance of the issue.” I would like to thank you. I also believe that the declaration of this initiative is important within the scope of the regional efforts of the allies. According to this agreement we signed, there will be a committee consisting of the Naval Forces commanders of the three countries within the organizational structure. This committee will be accepted by determining the activities of the task group and the countries that will participate when appropriate conditions are met. The point I want to draw your attention to here is that this initiative was essentially created by the three allies here. This initiative will only be open to the ships of the three coastal allied countries. The agreed contributions of others in certain areas will be possible over time when the conditions are met. As a result, we evaluate that the cooperation to be established with the Memorandum of Understanding we signed today and the agreement in the Black Sea will make great contributions to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. “We also wholeheartedly believe that this initiative will increase the close cooperation between our countries, enable the transfer of experience, and further develop our relations, especially in the Black Sea.”