Germany backs full probe of Black Sea attacks, Wadephul tells Bulgaria
In Berlin, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said Sofia will seek a moratorium on attacks on merchant ships with Turkey and Romania. She sees little use in NATO's Article 4.
Archive image · Photo: Olaf Kosinsky / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)
Germany supports Bulgaria's call for a full investigation into drone attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said after meeting his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova, in Berlin on Oct. 14, a day after new attacks close to Bulgaria's territorial waters. "We are on your side when it comes to clarifying and investigating these cases," Wadephul said, according to BNT. He called Bulgaria's summoning of the Russian ambassador "the right signal" and thanked the country for its swift rescue of the sailors.
Petrova said Bulgaria would work with Turkey and Romania toward a moratorium on attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea. Asked about NATO consultations under Article 4, she said Bulgaria had informed its allies and asked for assistance. In her view, triggering Article 4 in the current situation would do nothing but create a sense of even greater insecurity.
The two ministers also discussed the Black Sea Security Center that Bulgaria is developing with Romania, with hubs in Varna and Constanta. Petrova said she hopes it will be funded in the EU's next long-term budget. Wadephul pointed to the Sky Shield initiative as a way to close gaps in air defense. "We are in the same boat, and we are all in the enemy's crosshairs," he said. Petrova called counter-drone systems a long-term investment.