In Sofia, defence ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey met at the Boyana Residence and condemned drone attacks on Black Sea merchant ships, agreeing to create a trilateral coordination mechanism.
Participants included Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov; Romanian Defence Minister Stefan‑Radu Oprea, Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Dragos‑Dumitru Iacob; Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, Chief of Defence General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. The meeting followed recent strikes on commercial vessels, including a container ship hit by three maritime drones 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla, a Bulgarian Black Sea coastal town.
Stoyanov said a coordination mechanism would be proposed to enable a faster response to developments affecting Black Sea security, focusing on measures the three countries could take independently to uphold freedom of navigation. He noted that no memorandum was being considered against any other country at this stage.
The three ministers also discussed initiatives to counter low‑flying threats and the acquisition of MICA surface‑to‑air missiles for Bulgaria’s patrol ships. According to BTA, the Council of Ministers would decide on two memoranda that day—one concerning Bulgaria’s participation in a low‑flying‑threat project, the other on MICA missiles—before the measures were made public.
The trilateral agreement reflects a shared resolve to protect commercial shipping in the Black Sea amid escalating drone threats, with the partners aspiring to reach a common position by the end of the meeting.
