Bulgarian Deputy Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov told reporters on Thursday that there is no need for NATO warships to enter the Black Sea at the moment. Currently, the assessment is that such an action will be considered as an escalation of the situation, he added.
According to the Bulgarian official, the war in Ukraine proved that it is necessary to pay more attention to security in the Black Sea. NATO underestimated this topic for a long time until the summit in Vilnius in July 2023, after which the Alliance recognized it as important for the entire organization. The draft law on the security of the Black Sea has been submitted to the US Congress, Zapryanov said, according to the Bulgarian agency BTA, citing Agerpres.
The Montreux Convention does not allow NATO ships to stay in the Black Sea for more than 21 days, he reminded. All countries that signed the agreement respect it and do not consider changing it, he claimed.
After the end of the war in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey will probably not be able to demine the Black Sea on their own, and the participation of some NATO demining teams will be necessary. A “mine threat group” will be created between the three countries, he reminded, adding that the relevant memorandum should be ready in November.
Commenting on the conflict in the Middle East, the deputy minister of defense said that Bulgaria has a plan to deal with a possible migrant crisis. Currently, the situation at the borders is calm, the pressure on them has decreased, he noted.
Zapryanov was in Varna at the international conference on the security of the Black Sea, which was organized by the Nikolay Vaptsarov Naval Academy. It was attended by experts from the USA, Poland, Romania and Ukraine, as well as representatives of the military industry from France, Norway and Bulgaria. Among the guests of the forum were the commander of the Bulgarian Navy, rear admiral Kirill Mykhaylov, and the governor of Varna, Andriana Andreeva.
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Source: Hot News
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