Greek PM calls for global maritime truce after ship sunk in Black Sea drone attack
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Crew members rescued from a ship damaged in an Oct 28 drone attack off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast disembarking from a Bulgarian border police vessel in Varna, Bulgaria.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for a global maritime truce after a drone attack sank a Greek container ship off Bulgaria on 28 October.
- He said civilian shipping is “completely unacceptable” to target, and warned that attacks raise shipping and insurance costs for consumers.
- He also rejected the Turkey-Libya maritime accord, saying no deal can override the law of the sea and peaceful dispute rules.
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ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for a global maritime truce after an Oct 28 drone attack sank a Greek container ship off Bulgaria, the latest of a series of strikes on ships in the western Black Sea this month.
Speaking at a high-level debate of the Greek presidency of the UN Security Council on maritime security, Mitsotakis said commercial vessels must be able to navigate safely and freely even during times of conflict.
“Targeted civilian commercial shipping is completely unacceptable. It is yet another reminder for the urgent need for a global maritime truce” he said, adding that disruptions to freedom of navigation drive up shipping and insurance costs, and ultimately increase costs for consumers.
Commenting on a Turkey-Libya maritime accord which has drawn condemnation from Greece and Cyprus and three Arab states, Mitsotakis said that no bilateral arrangement could override international law of the sea, which provides a framework for cooperation and the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes.
“We cannot allow our seas to become a jungle,” he said. REUTERS