As reported at the press briefing Turkish Ministry of National Defense
Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria announced a series of joint activities in January 2026 aimed at detecting and monitoring drifting mines in the Black Sea within the trilateral initiative.
Information about this was confirmed during a press briefing by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, reported by the government correspondent of Ukrinform.
Plans and planned actions in the Black Sea
As part of the trilateral initiative launched together with Romania and Bulgaria under Turkey’s leadership, on January 8 the Meeting of the Mine Countermeasures Working Group in the Black Sea will take place at the Beşiktaş Naval Museum command, and at the Istanbul Strait command there will be a Transfer and Activation Ceremony of the Working Group’s leadership.
– Ministry of Defense
Additionally, as part of activation, the Bulgarian Navy minesweeper Priboy and the Romanian Navy ship Gikulesku will make a port visit to the Port of Istanbul from January 7 to 10, 2026.
During the 8th activation activity (trilateral initiative), which will run from January 9 to 18, 2026, in the western part of the Black Sea there will be activities to detect and monitor drifting mines
– Ministry of Defense
According to Ukrinform, preliminary joint mine countermeasure operations between the three countries began on July 1 of last year to enhance shipping safety, particularly for Ukrainian grain exports.
Such steps indicate close coordination among the participants of the trilateral initiative and their joint focus on ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea.