Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria joined
forces to hunt mines in the Black Sea, a move aimed at improving shipping
safety and shoring up vital Ukrainian grain exports to secure funding.
The
Istanbul-led initiative is designed to defuse mines drifting into specific
areas of the Black Sea as a result of Russia’s near two-year invasion of
Ukraine. A secondary motive is to
exclude other NATO members from the security effort, including the US and UK,
to avoid escalating tensions in the region.
Russia and
Ukraine are both major producers of grain, and the war has increasingly
threatened the safe passage of shipments. Ukraine nevertheless transported 15
million tons of cargo via its Black Sea corridor since mid-September, mainly
foodstuffs, as flagging financial aid from allies makes it even more crucial
for the country to ensure its commodities reach global markets. Strong
shipments are also needed to clear last year’s larger-than-expected harvest.
A memorandum of understanding was
signed Thursday 27 June in Istanbul, the first major joint action of Black Sea
nations since President Vladimir Putin sent forces into Ukraine in February
2022. Turkey
brokered a United Nations-backed agreement later that year to ensure the free
passage of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, but Russia abandoned the deal in
July 2023. A special shipping corridor
was then established, particularly to protect grains coming from deep-sea
ports.
While all three countries in the
coalition are NATO allies, the initiative isn’t being considered a NATO
operation as such. Turkey opposes the presence of naval assets in the
Black Sea from other NATO countries, including the US, arguing they could
further fuel tensions in the region. Turkey last week said it won’t allow the
passage of two mine-hunting ships donated to Ukraine by Britain as long as the
war is underway.
When
Russia invaded Ukraine, Ankara joined NATO allies in its condemnation and
limited access through the Bosporus strait for Russian naval vessels