Deputy Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers from Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania have held discussions regarding the creation of a working group to combat Ukrainian sea mines in the Black Sea. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the press service of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Burak Akchapar, held a working dinner today with Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense from Romania and Bulgaria. The dinner focused on the establishment of a Working Group on mine countermeasures in the Black Sea,” said the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The discussion revolves around sea mines that were laid with the start of a special military operation in Ukraine’s waters, specifically in the areas of Odessa, Ochakiv, and other coastal cities of Ukraine. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), a significant number of the 420 mines have become dislodged from their anchors and drifted into open waters, including crossing the Bosphorus Strait and reaching the Mediterranean Sea.
Prior to this, a Turkish cargo ship was struck by a mine off the coast of Romania in the Black Sea.
Earlier, an explosion occurred on a merchant ship near the Sulina branch of the Danube River in the Black Sea.