The Turkish Parliament has ratified the memorandum on the establishment of a Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea and we can start to put this agreement into practice. This is what Bulgaria's Caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov told the conference on security in the Black Sea held in Sofia. 

Two aid packages are to be sent to Ukraine, which already have the approval of the Bulgarian parliament, the minister said, adding that the armoured personnel carriers have left for Ukraine with 3 echelons.

"We cannot talk about Black Sea security as long as Russian aggression in Ukraine continues," Zapryanov said, explaining that the Black Sea is a corridor for communication and trade between Europe and Asia. This is a very important economic issue. More than 70 percent of Bulgaria's foreign trade goes by sea, the same is true for Romania and Ukraine, Zapryanov explained.