Kyiv, 31 March 2005

At the invitation of the Ukrainian side, the special representatives of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the level of Deputy Ministers (hereinafter referred to as the Representatives) of the participating States to the BLACKSEAFOR Agreement met in Kyiv on March 31, 2005 under the provisions of Article VI of the BLACKSDEAFOR Agreement to continue the process initiated at the First political consultations in Ankara on January 19, 2004 and proceeded by the extraordinary political consultations in Moscow on July 7, 2004 with a view to employing the potential of the BLACKSEAFOR for the purposes of addressing new risks and threats to security in the Black Sea.

The representatives re-affirmed their conviction that the littoral States should uphold their responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the Black Sea by utilizing efficiently the already available instruments of regional cooperation, namely BLACKSEAFOR and the Document on Confidence and Security Building Measures in the Naval Field in the Black Sea. The Representatives also welcomed the invitation extended by Turkey to the littoral States to join the operation “Black Sea Harmony”. If accepted, the operation could strengthen maritime security cooperation amongst the BLACKSEAFOR participating States.

The representatives are pleased with the progress achieved so far by the Ad Hoc Subordinate Senior Level Experts Group on elaboration of principles and modalities of the employment of the BLACKSEAFOR for the purposes of preventing the threat of terrorism and illicit trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery and related materials. Appreciating the contribution of each Side to this effect, the Representatives expressed their gratitude, in particular, to the Turkish Side for presenting the Draft Report and appropriate Annexes for consideration of participating States, as well as for hosting the meetings of the Expert Group in Ankara (November 29-30, 2004) and Istanbul (February 2-4, 2005).

The representatives assessed and approved the Report of the BLACKSEAFOR Ad Hoc Subordinate Senior Level Experts Group and Annex-A “Maritime Risk Assessment in the Black Sea” and invited the Group to finalize its work on remaining Annexes.

The activity of the Black Sea Naval Commanders (BSNC) with regard to implementations of the political guidelines set forth by the Representatives at their previous meetings in Ankara and Moscow was appreciated and further encouraged. In this context the Representatives, taking into consideration the recommendations of the BLACKSEAFOR Ad Hoc Subordinate Senior Level Experts Group, decided on the following political guidelines for BSNC:

• Extend the term of duty of Operational Control Authority (OPBLACKSEAFOR) from the existing period of time to a year-round basis by modifying Terms of Reference (TOR) of BLACKSEAFOR on the principle of rotation.
• Finalize drafting and approve the appropriate TOR, with due account of the initial results to be achieved on the matter by Ad Hoc Subordinate Senior Level Experts Group, in the area of command, control and communication for OPBLACKSEAFOR;
• Draft as soon as possible a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding between the Black Sea littoral States on exchange of information among national Points of Contact, as well as OPBLACKSEAFOR and COMBLACKSEAFOR, ensuring the protection of classified information. In parallel to this the participating States are invited to identify, according to their own domestic procedures, their Point of Contact, which would liaise efficiently with national law enforcement, customs and intelligence agencies and coordinate with other littoral States;
• Carry out maritime security trainings by BLACKSEAFOR, when activated.

BSNC was invited to report on fulfillment of the guidelines hereinabove to the Representatives at the next meeting to be held not later than December 2005.

The Representatives expressed their appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for hosting this meeting.