Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey have agreed to expand the mission of the joint Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group by adding the protection of critical infrastructure to its mandate.
The agreement was reached during the NATO summit in Ankara. This involves expanding the authority of the Mine Countermeasures Black Sea Task Group, which had previously focused primarily on locating and neutralizing mines in the Black Sea.
According to Reuters, the new mandate calls for the protection of energy and telecommunications facilities and undersea pipelines owned or operated by the three countries.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that protecting critical infrastructure in the Black Sea requires a comprehensive, integrated, and long-term approach. The ministry also noted that a memorandum establishing the mine countermeasures security group was signed on January 11, 2024, by the defense ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
The joint group became the first trilateral initiative of its kind among the three NATO countries with access to the Black Sea. Its initial task was to improve the safety of navigation following the appearance of drifting mines in the sea as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the group has already neutralized more than 150 mines since its creation. The expansion of its mandate reflects growing concerns among countries in the region regarding the security of maritime infrastructure, particularly against the backdrop of developing gas projects in the Black Sea.
For Ukraine, this decision is of direct importance, as Black Sea security affects shipping, export routes, energy infrastructure, and the overall naval situation in the region. Stronger coordination between Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey also signals greater NATO focus on the Black Sea region.
BLACK SEA, BULGARIA, DEFENSE, INFRASTRUCTURE, ROMANIA, TURKEY
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington will lift sanctions against Turkey that were imposed because Ankara purchased Russian S-400 air defense missile systems.
“We will lift the sanctions,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday in Ankara, responding to a question about the measures imposed against Turkey under the CAATSA law.
The statement came at the start of Trump’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Turkey in 2020 after Ankara purchased Russian S-400 air defense systems. Washington also excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, stating that the use of Russian systems poses risks to American aircraft.
Trump also said that the U.S. would make a decision regarding the possible sale of F-35s to Turkey. According to Reuters, the U.S. administration is ready to support such a deal, but legal and congressional obstacles have not yet been fully resolved.
For Turkey, the lifting of sanctions and a possible return to the F-35 issue would represent a significant breakthrough in relations with the U.S. This is also a sensitive issue for NATO, as Ankara remains one of the alliance’s key members, but its purchase of Russian S-400 systems in recent years has been one of the main sources of friction in its relations with Washington.
The NATO summit in Ankara is taking place against the backdrop of the alliance’s efforts to demonstrate increased defense spending and strengthened military-industrial cooperation. The meeting between Trump and Erdogan has become one of the summit’s central bilateral meetings, as it concerns not only sanctions but also future deliveries of U.S. weapons to Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey is working to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end with a lasting peace, and is also working to resume negotiations and revitalize the diplomatic process.
According to a post by the Turkish president’s public relations office on social media platform X on Monday, Erdogan made these remarks during a phone call with German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Erdogan also expressed hope during the conversation that the NATO leaders’ summit, to be held in Ankara, would demonstrate a firm commitment to strengthening Europe’s own defense within the framework of NATO and preserving transatlantic ties, the statement said.
Turkey’s residential real estate market continues to show nominal price growth, but taking inflation into account, housing is in fact continuing to become cheaper, according to market data.
According to analysts, the average price per square meter of housing across the country has reached 40.486 thousand Turkish lira, or about $872. The average cost of a residential real estate property is estimated at approximately 5.02 million lira, or about $108.1 thousand.
In nominal terms, housing prices increased by 23.8% year-on-year. However, after adjustment for inflation, the real dynamics moved into negative territory and amounted to about 6.5%.
Official statistics from the Central Bank of Turkey confirm this trend. In May 2026, the residential real estate price index increased by 1.7% month-on-month and by 24.5% year-on-year in nominal terms, but declined by 6.1% in real terms.
This means that, for buyers and investors, price growth in lira is not the same as growth in the value of the asset. Against the background of high inflation, real estate may look more expensive in the national currency, but lose purchasing value in real terms.
The average payback period for housing through rental income in Turkey is currently estimated at approximately 13 years. However, the situation differs significantly by region. In large cities and resort locations, housing prices have often grown faster than rental rates, so the yield of such properties is becoming lower.
This gap is especially noticeable in popular tourist regions, including Muğla and parts of the coast, where the cost of land and housing remains high, while rent does not always keep pace with sale prices. In such locations, buying real estate increasingly requires not only calculating potential income, but also assessing the liquidity of the property, maintenance costs and currency risks.
For foreign buyers, the situation has become less clear-cut. After the boom of 2021-2023, the Turkish market no longer looks like a market of guaranteed rapid growth. High interest rates, inflation, the weakening of the lira, changes in residence permit rules and cooling demand from foreigners are making investment decisions more complex.
At the same time, Turkey remains one of the largest real estate markets in the region. Demand is supported by domestic buyers, tenants in large cities, tourist regions, as well as interest in housing as a way to protect savings from inflation. However, the market is becoming more selective: liquidity is being maintained primarily by quality properties in strong locations.
For investors, the main conclusion is that Turkish real estate can no longer be assessed only by nominal growth in lira. It is more important to look at dynamics in foreign currency, real yield adjusted for inflation, maintenance costs, rental demand and resale prospects.
Turkey has started opening some districts that were previously closed for foreigners applying for residence permits, which may support demand for real estate in popular resort locations, primarily in Alanya and other areas of Antalya province, local media report.
This concerns a review of restrictions that in recent years applied to districts with a high concentration of foreign residents. Such zones were closed for first-time residence permit applications, including through the purchase or rental of housing. It was possible to buy real estate there, but it was impossible to obtain a residence permit at an address in a closed district.
After long appeals from businesses, migration authorities lifted some of the strict restrictions in sought-after areas of Alanya. Among the locations that are again being discussed as available for full legalization of foreigners are Mahmutlar, Avsallar and other popular areas of the resort market.
The industry publication Türkiye Today also writes that in June 2026 Turkey effectively returned to broader availability of districts for residence permit applications, with the exception of certain restrictions, particularly in two districts of Istanbul – Fatih and Esenyurt. At the same time, the market is still waiting for additional official clarifications on legal details, including the link between property purchases, address registration and the right to resident status.
Previously, Turkey had a system of closed districts if the share of foreigners in the local population exceeded a set threshold. In 2022-2025, this became one of the factors cooling foreign demand for housing in resort cities, especially in Antalya, Alanya, Mersin and Istanbul.
For the real estate market, the opening of previously closed districts may become an important signal. Foreign buyers often view the purchase of housing in Turkey not only as an investment or resort asset, but also as a basis for long-term residence. Therefore, the ability to register an address and submit documents for a residence permit directly affects the liquidity of such properties.
This change may be especially sensitive for Alanya. In recent years, Mahmutlar, Kestel, Avsallar, Kargicak and other districts actively attracted buyers from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Iran, Germany and Middle Eastern countries. After the introduction of restrictions, part of demand shifted to other locations or was postponed.
Restored access to residence permits may support both the primary new-build market and the secondary market, where many apartments were purchased by foreigners in 2020-2023. However, experts expect demand to be more cautious than during the peak relocation period after 2022: buyers have become more attentive to legal risks, housing maintenance costs, the lira exchange rate and the prospects for obtaining documents.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, in April 2026 foreigners purchased 1,516 residential properties in Turkey, 1.1% less than a year earlier. The share of foreigners in total sales was 1.2%. In January-April 2026, foreign buyers purchased 5,681 properties, 11.6% less than in the same period of 2025.
The main centers of sales to foreigners in April 2026 remained Antalya and Istanbul. According to specialized Turkish platforms based on TURKSTAT statistics, foreigners bought 453 properties in Antalya, 412 in Istanbul and 120 in Mersin. They were followed by Yalova – 68, Ankara – 53, Bursa – 49, Izmir – 41, Mugla – 27, Kocaeli – 24 and Sakarya – 21.
Among foreign buyers in April 2026, Russian citizens were the leaders, purchasing 263 real estate properties. Chinese citizens ranked second with 110 properties, followed by Iranians with 100. Ukrainians ranked fourth with 78 purchases. They were followed by citizens of Iraq – 65, Germany – 61, Kazakhstan – 54, Azerbaijan – 48, Saudi Arabia – 39 and the United Kingdom – 35.
Thus, Ukrainians remain one of the notable groups of foreign buyers of Turkish real estate, although in April 2026 they were no longer in the top three. For comparison, in January 2026 Ukrainians ranked third among foreigners, purchasing 77 properties and trailing only Russians and Iranians.
In January–April of this year, Ukraine exported nearly 11 million tons of corn, which is 27.6% more than during the same period last year; in monetary terms, corn exports rose by 26.6% to $2.33 billion.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, Turkey was the main buyer of Ukrainian corn during this period, as it was last year, and its share of total exports rose to 30.3% ($705.16 million) compared to 22% ($405.8 million) in January–April 2025.
Italy spent $363.3 million on Ukrainian corn—50.2% more than last year—and its share of total exports of this crop increased by nearly 2.5 percentage points to 15.6%.
Exports to Spain increased by 2.9% to $260 million, with its share of total exports decreasing by 2.6 percentage points to 11.18%.
Corn exports to all other countries totaled $1 billion—6.5% more than in the first four months of last year.
According to the State Customs Service, corn accounted for 16.75% of Ukraine’s total exports in January–April 2026, compared to 13.82% last year.
In April, Ukraine exported $574.7 million worth of corn—67.6% more than in the same month of 2025; specifically, shipments to Turkey increased by 55.7% to $213.2 million, to Italy by 2.7 times to nearly $76 million, and to Spain by 3.3 times—to $60.9 million.
At the same time, in January–April, Ukraine imported 11,000 tons of corn worth $65.1 million, mainly from France (43.6%), Hungary (16.4%), and Austria (14%), while last year it was 11,500 tons worth $61.9 million from the same countries.
According to statistics from the State Customs Service, in 2025 Ukraine exported 17.96 million tons of corn—39.4% less than in 2024—reducing revenue by 23% to $3.9 billion.
