Bulgaria rules out NATO Articles 4 and 5 after Black Sea ship attack
Civilian vessels were attacked with drones off the coast of Bulgaria (illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Bulgaria says there are currently no grounds to invoke Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO Treaty over a drone attack on ships in the Black Sea, according to a statement by Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
The assault on the vessels involved a coordinated strike using both a maritime and an aerial drone. The incident occurred approximately 130 km off the Bulgarian coast, within the country's exclusive economic zone.
Radev called the incident extremely alarming but said the drones' exact origin remains unknown.
"We will still try to determine where they came from, but it is obvious that they were either Russian or Ukrainian drones," the Bulgarian prime minister said.
He also said that on the day of the attack, he held a video conference with members of the EU Council and briefed them on the situation.
At the same time, the Bulgarian premier stressed that there were no grounds to invoke Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO collective security treaty.
According to him, the reason is that the incident took place in an area with a special status—although it is Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, the waters are considered neutral.
Radev added that the security of shipping and the incident itself had already been raised internationally.
Background
As previously reported, vessels were targeted at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, October 6, approximately 70–80 nautical miles east of the Bulgarian coast, near Byala. Two bulk carriers were hit:
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ALFA WATAN, sailing under the Togo flag
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ABLE, sailing under the Palau flag.
ALFA WATAN suffered critical damage and sank. The crew's fate remains unknown. Bulgarian authorities are conducting a search-and-rescue operation.
