Türkiye, Romania and Bulgaria have agreed to expand the mandate of a trilateral maritime force in the Black Sea in a way to protect critical undersea infrastructure, including the pipelines and other facilities.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts, Radu-Dinel Miruța and Dimitar Stoyanov, on July 8 on the sidelines of the NATO’s Ankara summit.
According to sources, the ministers signed an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Mine Countermeasures Black Sea (MCM Black Sea) Task Group, expanding its mandate to include the protection of the three countries’ critical undersea infrastructure in the Black Sea.
The move comes after maritime security in the Black Sea was disrupted by increased attacks by Russia and Ukraine and with concerns that the ongoing war would damage the existing infrastructure.
The TurkStream oil pipeline and the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline are operating between Türkiye and Russia.
The memorandum establishing the Mine Countermeasures Black Sea Task Group was signed by the three countries on Jan. 11, 2024, creating the first trilateral initiative of its kind among the NATO allies bordering the Black Sea.
The task group’s primary mission is to ensure freedom of navigation through surveillance, mine countermeasure operations, the neutralization of maritime hazards and search-and-rescue activities.
