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NATO will convene a dedicated meeting on a growing number of attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Thursday, after a string of incidents off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria that are believed to be spillover from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“There will be a dedicated session of the North Atlantic Council to address the situation in the Black Sea,” Dan said following talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
NATO officials said the issue would be placed on the agenda of the alliance’s regular meeting of ambassadors in Brussels next week.
Dan also met Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Rutte to discuss strengthening defenses in the region.
The North Atlantic Council is NATO’s principal political decision-making body, and its ambassadors meet regularly at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters.
In a post on X, Dan described the situation as serious, saying commercial ships are being attacked and sunk, with seafarers killed, injured or missing close to Romanian and Bulgarian shores. “This is unacceptable and it has to stop,” he wrote.
He said NATO allies have a commitment to defend “every inch” of their territory, including waters and airspace, and that lives, global trade and critical infrastructure are at stake.
Romania and Bulgaria are both NATO members with Black Sea coastlines.
Radev thanked Rutte for what he called a clear signal that Black Sea security is Eastern Flank security.
He said NATO is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to help the two countries strengthen anti-drone capabilities and maritime monitoring after the recent attacks on merchant ships.
Radev said Bulgaria has proposed a moratorium on all military strikes against civilian and commercial shipping in the Black Sea and expects support from its European Union partners.
He argued that the sea is not only a security zone but a strategic corridor for food, fertilizer and energy shipments on which millions of people, especially in Africa and the Middle East, depend.
Radev said the ship Chelsea 3 was due to be towed to the port of Burgas on Thursday afternoon for repairs, where authorities would examine it closely for drone remnants.
He said Bulgaria has hypotheses about who carried out the attack but will not make accusations without clear evidence.
Bulgaria has not severed diplomatic ties with Russia, Radev noted, and summoned the Russian ambassador a few days ago to press for an end to strikes on ships in the Black Sea.
He called that channel of communication extremely important and said it should be expanded with concrete measures and proposals. Bulgaria remains part of the mine countermeasures group in the Black Sea and was among the first countries to join the European Sky Shield air defense initiative after Germany announced it in 2022, he said.
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Radev also tied the issue to Europe’s energy costs, which he described as one of the bloc’s biggest problems and a factor in its competitiveness.
He said he opposes military attacks on refineries and energy facilities in both Ukraine and Russia because they affect everyone in Europe.
He said Europe has closed a number of refineries over the past two decades and now depends heavily on imports of finished fuels, particularly aviation fuel, whose price he said doubled in a few months.
Bulgaria supports new energy corridors between Europe and the Middle East, he said.
On the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework, Radev said Bulgaria backs efforts to boost competitiveness but not at the expense of cohesion policies and the Common Agricultural Policy.
He added that Bulgaria supports any coalition that works to end Russia’s war against Ukraine through diplomacy.
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