Bulgaria has proposed to establish and host a multinational maritime coordination centre aimed at ensuring the safety of shipping in the western part of the Black Sea .
The proposal was made by the country’s prime minister, Rossen Zhelyazkov, after the Ukraine security summit in Paris on Thursday.
The concept envisions the centre providing continuous marine monitoring and early warning of possible threats and hostile operations, as well as increasing the resilience of important undersea infrastructure in the Black Sea, the Bulgarian government press service said.
“The goal is to establish guidelines for shipping and to carry out monitoring activities – by air and water, as well as critical infrastructure, as well as all potential hostile actions in the Black Sea territory,” said Zhelyazkov, stressing that the restoration of commercial shipping is extremely important because it affects not only the bordering countries but also the entire East-West trade.
Zhelyazkov pointed out that the Black Sea mine action group is a good example of how coordination between coastal states can contribute to efforts to strengthen security of navigation in the Black Sea.
The summit in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, discussed the halt of hostilities in Ukraine as part of achieving a stable and long-term peace with all of the security assurances that Ukraine requires, including guarantees for Europe’s security.
Earlier this week the US said it had brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine to halt military activity over the Black Sea after its officials met separately with counterparts from Moscow and Kyiv in Saudi Arabia.
