George Scutaru, CEO of the New Strategy Center, moderated on April 12, during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, a panel entitled “Black Sea Security from the Perspective of Littoral Allies.” The panel featured as speakers Emil Hurezeanu, Romania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georg Georgiev, Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Levent Gümrükçü, Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During the discussions, the essential strategic role of the Black Sea in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture was emphasized, particularly in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. The speakers analyzed potential developments in the war, prospects for peace negotiations, and their implications for regional stability. The guests stressed the need for a peace agreement that guarantees Ukraine’s territorial integrity and ensures that hostilities will not resume.

Another key topic of the debate was the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, which is vital for commercial flows, energy security, and food security. In this context, the risks posed by hybrid threats—which can affect connectivity and energy projects in the region—were also highlighted.

Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey possess significant natural gas reserves, and their exploitation is crucial for the energy security of these countries as well as for reducing Europe’s energy dependency. The three countries already cooperate in mine countermeasures through the MCM Black Sea initiative, which could also be expanded to protect critical infrastructure.

On this occasion, George Scutaru recalled the joint study presented in December in Brussels at NATO headquarters by the New Strategy Center (Romania), EDAM (Turkey), and Sofia Security Forum (Bulgaria), which advocated for expanded cooperation among the three littoral states to protect critical infrastructure that may be vulnerable to hybrid threats.