Prime minister Rumen Radev said in Varna that European Commission leaders and European leaders back the idea of Bulgaria and Romania for a moratorium on attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea. He spoke to reporters at a joint briefing with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who is on a working visit to Bulgaria.
The Commission said yesterday that von der Leyen is visiting Romania and Bulgaria because hybrid threats in the Black Sea region have grown.
See also: Radev and von der Leyen meet in Varna on Black Sea security
The two were at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, where they were briefed on the situation in the region. Radev thanked her for the support and said the initiative is his and the Romanian president's.
The attacks targeted merchant ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. Radev said he has been in touch with von der Leyen since the first hours after them, and called her arrival in Varna a gesture of solidarity with Bulgaria.
"These attacks are absolutely unacceptable. Seafarers are not a party to an armed conflict, and merchant ships must not be targets," Radev said.
He said the attacks break maritime and international law. He added that more seafarers have died in the Black Sea in one month than in the Strait of Hormuz in eight months.
Radev said he believes the security situation in the region is changing fast. In his view, peace needs a ceasefire and active diplomacy.