Three NATO countries issued a joint statement over attacks on ships in the Black Sea

Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria have condemned attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea and agreed to strengthen cooperation to protect shipping.

This was reported by the Anadolu Agency, citing a joint statement following the meeting of the defense ministers of the three countries in Sofia on October 28.

The meeting participants called for an end to actions that threaten merchant ships, maritime infrastructure and freedom of navigation. They stressed that disruptions to maritime transport pose risks to international trade, food and energy security.

The countries agreed to strengthen information and intelligence sharing, improve maritime situation monitoring and early warning systems. Activities will be coordinated with NATO as necessary.

Separately, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said that Ankara regularly warns Ukraine and Russia about the need to stop attacks on civilian vessels.

According to him, on October 28, three drones attacked a merchant ship in the maritime zone under Bulgarian jurisdiction. Guler stressed that Turkey reserves all legal rights in connection with attacks on vessels flying the Turkish flag or those operated by Turkish companies.

As a reminder, on October 22, it was reported that the situation in the Black Sea had worsened , where since the beginning of the month a series of attacks on merchant ships near Bulgaria and Romania had led to the deaths of sailors and heightened concerns about shipping safety.

Earlier it became known that NATO intends to discuss attacks on ships near Romania and Bulgaria. The reason was several incidents with drones that damaged civilian ships.

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