Bulgarian PM summons Russian ambassador after ship sinks in Black Sea drone attack
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Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev says he has summoned the Russian ambassador after two merchant ships were struck in a drone attack off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
Eleven crew members are missing and one sailor was saved, according to local officials, after one of the vessels sank 17 nautical miles (31km) east of the village of Krapets.
The other vessel, Ukrainian owned, was hit by drones 18 nautical miles from the town of Byala and all 15 crew were rescued.
The attacks come a week after two other commercial ships were hit by sea and aerial drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. One of the ships, the Alfa Watan, sank and all 10 crew, including nine Syrians, are presumed dead.
Radev convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday and said he had summoned Russian envoy Eleonora Mitrofanova. Although there was no conclusive evidence of blame on "either side... the logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation", he said.
Mitrofanova was later quoted by Bulgarian media as telling Radev she had no information from Russia's defence ministry relating to the latest attacks. She also said these strikes could have been a provocation by a third party.
Bulgaria is a Nato member, and Radev also spoke to secretary general Mark Rutte about the latest attacks.
"Nato will continue to work closely with our allies in the Black Sea," Rutte said after the talks.
"We have already strengthened our posture along the eastern flank and will continue to monitor the security environment, adjusting our deterrence and defence posture as needed," he added.
Radev had earlier asked Nato and the EU for technical assistance in investigating the previous attacks that took place on 6 October, indicating it was unclear who was behind them.
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