Black Sea Naval Force Explained

The Black Sea Naval Force (also known as BLACKSEAFOR or the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group) is a Black Sea naval cooperation program established in 2001 on the initiative of Turkey with the participation of Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia.^{[1] [2]}

History

The original purpose of BLACKSEAFOR was "to cooperatively promote security and stability in the Black Sea maritime area and beyond, strengthen friendship and good neighborly relations among the regional States, and increase interoperability among those states' naval forces".^[3]

The BLACKSEAFOR has conducted several joint naval drills since its formation, however it has been suspended several times.^[4] The 2008 Russo-Georgian war lead Georgia to suspend its involvement in BLACKSEAFOR drills and Russia to refuse to take part in drills involving Georgia.^[5] The partnership was effectively suspended in 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea and War in Donbas.^[6] In 2015, after a Russian plane was shot down by Turkish forces, Russia suspended its BLACKSEAFOR membership.^[7]

See also

• Operation Black Sea Harmony
• 1936 Montreux Convention governing the passage of military ships into the Black Sea
• Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
• Operation Active Endeavour

Further reading

• Book: Volten. Peter M.E.. Tashev. Blagovest. Establishing security and stability in the wider Black Sea area : international politics and the new and emerging democracies. 2007. IOS Press in cooperation with NATO Public Diplomacy Division. Amsterdam. 9781586037659. 105.
• Book: Pavliuk. Oleksandr. Klympush-Tsintsadze. Ivanna. The Black Sea Region: Cooperation and Security Building: Cooperation and Security Building. 2016. Routledge. 9781315498232.

External links

• Composition of the BLACKSEAFOR year by year

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ukraine's attempts to exclude Russia from BlackSeaFor fail — military source. TASS. 12 December 2016.
2. News: Black sea countries to sign Blackseafor agreement Monday. Hürriyet Daily News. 28 March 2001. 12 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220115301/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/black-sea-countries-to-sign-blackseafor-agreement-monday.aspx?pageID=438&n=black-sea-countries-to-sign-blackseafor-agreement-monday-2001-03-28. 20 December 2016. dead.
3. Book: Özdal. Habibe. Turkey-Ukraine Relations: High Potential, Low Voltage. 1 December 2011. International Strategic Research Organization (USAK). 34.
4. Web site: Sanchez. W. Alejandro. Did BLACKSEAFOR Ever Have a Chance?. E-International Relations. 18 November 2012.
5. News: Russian Warship Arrives in Bulgarian Black Sea for Naval Drills. Novinite. 6 August 2009.
6. News: Kucera. Joshua. Black Sea Naval Cooperation Another Casualty Of Ukraine War. EurasiaNet. 23 July 2014.
7. Web site: Russia suspends participation in BLACKSEAFOR drills after Turkey's downing of Russian jet. TASS. 12 December 2016. 27 November 2015.