Romania has not proposed setting up a Black Sea
\nfleet, but a joint naval initiative in the Black Sea area, together with
\nBulgaria and Turkey, to carry out training exercises under the NATO umbrella.
\nThis clarification was made by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis at the end of
\nhis visit to Bulgaria, after the Bulgarian head of state, Prime Minister and
\nDefence Minister excluded their country’s participation in a joint fleet
\noutside of NATO. President Iohannis has stressed that the North-Atlantic
\nAlliance cannot and does not want to have its own fleet in the Black Sea area.
\nPresident Iohannis:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The so-called naval initiative refers to joint
\ntraining and exercises. We believe that this initiative should be held under
\nthe umbrella of the North-Atlantic Alliance, because all these Black Sea
\ncountries, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, are NATO allies. The misunderstanding
\nprobably occurred in relation to the concept of NATO fleet. Nobody will set up
\nany NATO fleet. NATO cannot and does not wish to have its own fleet in the
\nBlack Sea area.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Romanian President made the clarification after
\nBulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said it was not a good idea for his
\ncountry to be part of a joint fleet in the Black Sea, as this would trigger a
\nreaction from Russia. We want investment, we want to develop tourism at
\nEuropean level, we want to see tourist boats and yachts in the Black Sea, not
\nmilitary vessels. We could only speak of a possible presence of NATO military
\nships in the area in the event of a massive influx of migrants if their routes
\nthrough the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas are blocked, said the Bulgarian Prime
\nMinister Boiko Borisov. The Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos has also
\nstated that the proposal was by no means about setting up a fleet in the Black
\nSea, but about establishing naval cooperation under the aegis of NATO. Dacian
\nCiolos:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There are two major points that need to be
\nclarified: it’s not about creating a fleet, but about establishing a means of
\ncooperation among the NATO member countries. Secondly, it’s not about a
\nthree-party cooperation, but about cooperation under the aegis of NATO. This
\nwas the proposal, and I believe, judging by the latest statements made by the
\nBulgarian officials, that Bulgaria is open to such an initiative.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s proposal, whose main goal, at first at
\nleast, is to achieve a level of compatibility among the naval forces of the
\nthree NATO allies – Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey – will most likely be included
\non the agenda of talks of the NATO summit due next month in Warsaw. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Clarifications after visit to Bulgaria by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":69008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[28945,13794],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-69007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-nato"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n