Black Sea conference in Sofia: Iotova speaks of 'real military actions'
Defense Minister Stoyanov is still waiting for NATO satellite images. Interior Minister Demerdzhiev plans to examine the wreck with a deep-sea drone and bring in US experts.
Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Luis R. Chavez / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · BGNES Agency · youtube.com
At an international conference on security in the Black Sea and Eastern Europe in Sofia, President Iliana Iotova described the recent attacks on merchant ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone as a new escalation. They were "real military actions" and not incidents, she said on Monday (Oct. 12), according to BNT. Bulgaria is ready to play an active role in negotiations among the six Black Sea coastal states, with the aim of a moratorium on hostilities and turning the sea into a shared security zone.
Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said intelligence and surveillance in the Black Sea were being stepped up and additional protection measures applied to military units and critical infrastructure. NATO member states had joined the investigation; Bulgaria had asked NATO for satellite images, but they had not yet been provided, he said.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the wreck would be examined with a special deep-sea drone and US experts were being brought in to look for drone debris or traces that could point to those behind the attacks. Work is also under way to acquire new border police patrol vessels built on a combat platform, designed for complex missions on the open sea.