Black Sea drones: ex-minister Tagarev urges NATO Article 4 consultations
The former defence minister from Andrey Gyurov's camp accuses the government of acting too late and calls for allied protection for shipping.
Archive image · Photo: U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
The latest drone attack on a merchant ship off the Bulgarian coast has become a campaign issue. Former defence minister Todor Tagarev, a member of Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev's initiative committee, said on Wednesday evening on the show "Denyat ON AIR" on Bulgaria ON AIR that Bulgaria should immediately request consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty. That would give the country real allied protection for shipping in the Black Sea, he said, according to Dunavmost.
"The situation here is truly escalating enormously. In this situation our government is inadequate," Tagarev said. He accused the government of acting late because of the election and of avoiding naming Russia as the aggressor. "How many more ships have to sink in our waters before they take real measures?" he asked.
Article 4 provides for consultations among allies when a member considers its security threatened. According to Tagarev, it has been invoked nine times in NATO's history, including by Turkey and Poland. He dismissed speculation about Article 5 and accused Prime Minister Rumen Radev and his circle of deliberately conflating the two articles. Radev and presidential candidate Iliana Yotova rely on pro-Russian voters, Tagarev claimed. The runoff takes place on Sunday, Nov. 1.