Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria plan to sign a deal in January on a joint plan to clear mines floating in the Black Sea as a result of the war in Ukraine, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on December 16, after months of talks between the NATO member nations. The Black Sea states met officials from Georgia, Poland, and Ukraine in April 2022 to discuss clearing the mines after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Defense ministers from the three countries also held talks on the plan at a NATO meeting in Brussels in October, and in Ankara last month as they worked to finalize the initiative.
