Romanian Defence Minister Radu-Dinel Miruță has proposed that his Bulgarian counterpart, Dimitar Stoyanov, sign a joint letter to NATO leadership calling for the establishment of a military command for the Alliance's Black Sea coastal member states.
"The Black Sea region needs a joint military command for NATO's coastal member states, and we must take steps to achieve this goal," Miruță wrote on Facebook following a telephone conversation with Bulgaria's defence minister prompted by recent incidents in the Black Sea.
According to Miruță, the proposal envisages a rotational arrangement among all NATO member states bordering the Black Sea, covering both the command's location and its leadership.
He added that Romania could assume leadership of the command and host its headquarters on the Romanian Black Sea coast from 2028. Until then, Bucharest would support locating the structure on Türkiye's Black Sea coast, with Romanian and Bulgarian officers participating.
"Romania is determined to protect its security and economic interests in the Black Sea while strictly respecting international law," Miruță emphasised.
The Romanian defence minister also stressed that incidents involving drones, whether in the air or at sea, should not be treated as isolated national problems.
Meanwhile, Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova agreed to strengthen cooperation between their countries to introduce more effective counter-drone measures within the EU and NATO. Their agreement followed drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea near the Bulgarian coast.
During their telephone conversation, the two leaders also discussed other incidents affecting shipping and infrastructure in Romanian waters.
