site.btaBalkan Brief

Turkish Authorities Defuse Naval Mine in Black Sea 

Istanbul – The Turkish authorities have defused a naval mine discovered Monday morning in the Black Sea close to the border with Bulgaria, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense was quoted by TRT Haber TV. 

The Turkish Navy’s underwater defense forces have neutralized the mine, which was discovered near the town of Igneada (close to the border with Bulgaria). 

Another naval mine was spotted on Saturday in the Bosphorus. Turkey’s Defense Mnister Hulusi Akar later confirmed that the mine has been defused by the underwater defense forces. 

The naval mines are supposed to have originated from the northern Black Sea, where there is a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

Five Russian Diplomats Declared Personae Non-gratae in Republic of North Macedonia

Skopje – The Russian Ambassador in the Republic of North Macedonia, Sergei Bezdnikin, has been summoned by the Foreign Ministry in Skopje and was handed a note, with which five members of the Russian Embassy staff are declared personae non-gratae, North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry reported. 

According to the information, received by the competent authorities, they have been involved in activities that are against the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and will have to leave the Republic of North Macedonia within five days, the Foreign Ministry said. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Will Address Greek Parliament on April 7

Athens – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Greek Parliament on April 7, ANA-MPA reported. 

Zelenskyy is scheduled to deliver a speech at 12:00 at noon. Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, Konstantinos Tasoulas, will address the MPs afterward. 

Zelenskyy was invited to address the Greek MPs via video conference by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a phone call between the two on March 25. 

According to the Proto Thema newspaper, all 300 MPs have been invited to Zelenskyy’s speech, which will be broadcast live on line and will have Greek and English language simultaneous interpretation. 

The biggest opposition party in Greece, Syriza, has also expressed support for Zelenskyy’s address. 

Bomb Threat on Turkish Airlines’ Flight from Istanbul to Moscow 

Istanbul – A bomb threat was reported on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Moscow, CNN Turk reported. 

A bomb squad has found the bomb threat to be fake. 

CNN Turk recalls that recently there have been a number of bomb threats for flights to Moscow serviced by Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia. 

Foreign Ministers Cavusoglu and Kuleba Talk on Phone 

Ankara – The foreign ministers of Turkey and Ukraine, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Dmytro Kuleba had a telephone conversation, CNN Turk reported. The two discussed the latest developments in Ukraine, as well as the meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiations delegations, which is scheduled for to take place on Monday in Istanbul. 

Protest against War in Ukraine Takes Place in front of Russian Embassy in Bucharest 

Bucharest – A protest against the war in Ukraine took place on Sunday in front of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Agerpres reported. The protest was organized by the December 21 Association and was joined by refugees from Ukraine. 

The participants carried posters reading “Stop Putin, Stop the war”, “Putin’s war affects all of us”, “Thank you, Romania”. The protesters chanted “Putin is a terrorist”, “Putin is a criminal”, “Russians out” and “Ukraine, Ukraine”.