After Floating Mines Deal, Has Security in the Black Sea Shifted to Turkiye’s Control?

After nearly 6 months since Turkiye, Romania, and Bulgaria signed an agreement for a joint plan to remove mines in the Black Sea due to the Ukraine war, the task force began its operations in early July 2024.

New Initiative

In her article for Anadolu Agency, Turkish writer Merve Seren highlighted the Memorandum of Understanding of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Task Group, signed between the Turkish Navy, Bulgaria, and Romania on January 11, 2024, following months of negotiations among the three countries.

Seren noted that one of the Turkish Navy's priorities is the Black Sea, as floating mines, deployed off the coast of Odesa before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, pose a serious threat to maritime trade, transportation, energy activities, environmental security, and food security.

The area where the mines are located has become hazardous for commercial vessels and those engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. Some of these mines also pose a threat as they drift towards ports and can collide with commercial ships.

The writer mentioned that Turkiye responded to the increasing threat of floating mines by leading a new initiative under the authority granted to it by the Montreux Convention.

In this context, Turkiye conducted a series of talks with its neighboring countries Bulgaria and Romania, culminating in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding of the Mine Countermeasure Working Group in the Black Sea on January 11, 2024.

As a result, a task force was formed that combined the capabilities and resources of the three countries to combat the threat of floating mines in the Black Sea. Starting from early July 2024, the Mine Countermeasure Working Group in the Black Sea commenced its operations.

According to the article, “The Mine Countermeasure Working Group in the Black Sea represents an extremely valuable effort in regional and international security engineering, not only for the coastal states but also for the entire region.”

Policy of Balance

The Turkish writer highlighted three key assessments regarding the memorandum of understanding for the Mine Countermeasure Working Group in the Black Sea.

Firstly, the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Working Group embodies Turkiye's dynamic "policy of balance" in the region. Turkiye has engaged with Russia since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and even during the military intervention in Georgia in 2008, adopting a "conciliatory" rather than "exclusionary" stance. In this regard, dialogue between Ankara and Moscow has been built upon principles of regional ownership and the Montreux Convention principles to achieve equilibrium in the Black Sea and ensure regional security.

Therefore, the Mine Countermeasure Working Group in the Black Sea proves Turkiye’s long-standing policy of balance, grounded in an approach that rejects transforming the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a competition between the U.S. and Russia in the Black Sea.

According to the article, there are two well-known realities: the United States' containment strategy in the new world order targets Russia, Iran, and China; and the Russian occupation of Georgia and Crimea, and its war on Ukraine, pose serious challenges to U.S. hegemony.

For these reasons, Turkiye deemed it inappropriate to transfer this agreement under NATO's umbrella or even to the United Nations, opting instead to cooperate with coastal states and prefer proactive measures to preempt risks and threats that may arise from various attempts by centralized entities in the United States or Russia.

According to the Turkish writer, post-war scenarios and the manner in which wars conclude could potentially lead Turkiye to initiate a new framework involving Georgia and Ukraine within this trilateral mechanism.

Mines War

Secondly, the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Working Group embodies Turkiye's acquired capabilities and expertise in mine warfare.

In the past, Turkiye focused on mine clearance, but now it has become a significant "mine hunter" within NATO. Turkiye has gained deep knowledge and experience in mine warfare through active participation in operational missions of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group and through "Nusret" exercises held in Izmir and Canakkale for one year.

"It should be noted that Turkiye, currently possessing 11 mine-hunting ships, will lead the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Working Group and provide Bulgaria and Romania with necessary capabilities."

"In this sense, it is not overstating to say that Turkiye will transfer its expertise in mine detection, diagnosis, and destruction to its Bulgarian and Romanian partners, whether through remote-controlled demolition devices on ships or specialized mine warfare divers,” the writer added.

According to the article, despite Turkiye not directly cooperating with NATO within the framework of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Working Group, this initiative was implemented based on a decision taken at a NATO summit in Vilnius.

In the future, it might be possible for NATO and the United States to participate in mine warfare through mine warfare divers if the naval leaders of the three countries unanimously agree, but this must be done under the policy of balance in the Black Sea during ongoing conflicts.

However, it is deemed inappropriate for non-coastal surface ships of non-littoral states to participate in these activities, according to the writer.

As for the third key assessment, the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Working Group is critically important for safeguarding Turkiye's national and regional interests. Turkiye now holds substantial gas reserves in the region.

Despite no official announcement yet, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in 2022 that discovered gas reserves in the Black Sea amounted to 710 billion cubic meters, valued at approximately one trillion dollars in market terms.

This announcement underscores the importance of detecting and neutralizing floating mines that could threaten naval ships and vessels engaged in exploration and drilling for hydrocarbons in the Black Sea.

For this reason, Turkiye maintains constant readiness of mine hunting ships, underwater defense teams, mine warfare divers, patrol boats, and supported maritime and aerial transport to mitigate risks and threats facing commercial ships and vessels involved in exploration and hydrocarbon extraction.

Further, it's crucial to emphasize that Turkiye's success in navigation directly impacts its defense industry. For instance, the significant revenues generated by Turkiye's defense industry currently largely benefit the naval forces.

As noted by the Turkish writer, Turkiye has already begun constructing four different types of unmanned maritime vessels alongside reconnaissance and surveillance drones. It should be emphasized that one of the future roles of these maritime vessels will be in mine countermeasures.

The writer concluded her article by stating: "The current floating mines in the Black Sea constitute one of the sensitive security vulnerabilities today. Therefore, Ankara has chosen the most logical option of assigning coastal states in the Black Sea to clean up the mines."

In this manner, Turkiye adopts a cautious and prudent approach to maintaining national and regional security, preferring to address the problem promptly without antagonizing relevant parties.