Kyriakos Mitsotakis urges global maritime truce following drone strike on Greek vessel

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged the international community to establish a worldwide maritime truce following the sinking of a Greek container vessel by an unmanned aerial vehicle off the coast of Bulgaria.

The assault marks the latest incident in a wave of attacks targeting merchant vessels navigating the western Black Sea over the course of the month, according to a report by Reuters.

Mitsotakis delivered his appeal on Wednesday during a United Nations Security Council high-level debate on maritime security, held under the Greek presidency of the council. He emphasized that non-military commercial vessels must retain the right to navigate international waterways without interference or danger, regardless of ongoing armed conflicts.

Targeting commercial transport at sea cannot be tolerated, the Greek leader told the council, warning that such actions highlight the pressing requirement for an international agreement to halt hostilities against merchant traffic. He pointed out that attacks on shipping routes disrupt freedom of navigation, which in turn inflates operational expenses, raises insurance premiums for vessels, and ultimately burdens consumers worldwide with higher prices for goods.

During the session, Mitsotakis also addressed a controversial bilateral maritime boundary agreement signed between Turkey and Libya. The pact has previously faced severe criticism from Greece, Cyprus, and three Arab nations.

The prime minister stressed that regional bilateral treaties cannot supersede established international maritime law, which provides the legal foundation for state cooperation and the peaceful resolution of territorial disagreements. Warning against the breakdown of order across key waterways, he declared that the international community must prevent the world's oceans and seas from turning into an ungoverned wilderness.