Ukraine's Ambassador says when Türkiye, Bulgaria, and Romania will demine Black Sea
Photo: Vasyl Bodnar, Ambassador of Ukraine to Türkiye (Getty Images)
Türkiye, Bulgaria, and Romania are likely to commence the demining of the Black Sea this summer, says Ukraine's Ambassador to Türkiye, Vasyl Bodnar.
Bodnar explained that for these three NATO countries to initiate the demining of the Black Sea, they need to put into effect the memorandum signed between them. Romania has already done so, Bulgaria is undergoing internal state procedures, and Türkiye is in the process of ratifying the memorandum through its parliament.
According to Bodnar, the Turkish government is currently doing everything possible to coordinate and ratify the document in the next month or two.
"It is most likely that the deployment of ships in the sea will take place sometime in the summer, covering the area of international waters... If we draw a line from Odesa to the Bosporus, it will be west of this line. That is, it can be considered from the former grain corridor line to the west to the territorial waters of Romania, Bulgaria, and Türkiye," clarified the ambassador.
He added that Ukraine is working on joining the memorandum. To achieve this, they proposed a condition that the participation of Ukrainian ships in the initiative would only be possible after the end of the war to prevent them from being targets of attacks.
"At the same time, information exchange and other cooperation are possible within different time frames. We will negotiate this directly during meetings," noted the diplomat.
Background
Last week, Romania, Bulgaria, and Türkiye signed a memorandum to counteract sea mines in the Black Sea. The countries will establish a dedicated group for mine countermeasure activities in the sea to enhance maritime safety.
