Bulgaria to Skip NATO's Poseidon Naval Drills As Sailors Get COVID-19
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Bulgaria will not participate in NATO's Poseidon 2021 drills in the Black Sea due to its navy servicemen having contracted the coronavirus, Rear Adm. Mihai Panait, the navy chief of Romania, which hosts the drills, said on Saturday.
Poseidon 2021 began on Saturday in the Romanian sea port of Constanta to run until March 6. Initially, the exercises should have been attended by Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United States.
"The Bulgarian partner, this time, has a problem with the COVID-19 pandemic, Sputnik reported.
And because of this it refused to participate in this multinational exercise," Panait told the Romania radio broadcaster.
Panait stressed that the Romanian servicemen were exposed to a two-week quarantine and received vaccines against the coronavirus to ensure that they would attend the drills.
The Poseidon naval exercises are held annually since 2016, when Romania suggested that the alliance enhance its security provisions in Europe's southeast and strengthen its presence in the Black Sea region.