Sofia, Oct 13 (IANS) Prime Minister Rumen Radev summoned Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova on Tuesday over a series of drone attacks on merchant ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea over the past week.
Radev acknowledged that Bulgaria did not have conclusive evidence regarding the origin of the drones. However, he argued that since one of the vessels targeted was registered in Ukraine and Ukrainian-owned, “it makes no sense for Ukraine to destroy its own ships,” according to the Bulgarian Government Information Service (GIS).
Mitrofanova said she understood Radev’s reasoning but had received no information from the Russian government related to the recent attacks in the Black Sea, the GIS added.
Meanwhile, Mitrofanova raised the possibility that these attacks on merchant ships near Bulgarian territorial waters could have been a provocation by a third country, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Radev emphasised that attacks on merchant ships were absolutely unacceptable, warning that they risked significantly escalating the conflict. He called for continued investigations with the EU and NATO allies to establish the truth.
Tensions in the Black Sea near Bulgaria have escalated since unidentified drones sank one merchant ship and set another on fire about 70 nautical miles east of Byala on Oct. 6.
Two more merchant ships came under attack early Tuesday.
The “Chelsea 3,” flying the Maltese flag, registered in Ukraine, and Ukrainian-owned, was attacked 18 nautical miles east of the town of Byala. Bulgarian authorities rescued all 15 crew members aboard the vessel. The other ship, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged “HS Dignity,” sank near Krapets. According to the latest update from Bulgarian authorities, five crew members were rescued, while 11 remained missing.
The crew members were safely transported to the port of Varna, where five of them received medical care.
The incident marked the second drone attack on merchant ships near Bulgaria within a week. On October 6, unidentified drones sank one merchant ship and set another on fire about 70 nautical miles east of Byala, within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.
–IANS
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