Erdogan urges not to turn the Black Sea into a battlefield
14 December 02:09
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Russia and Ukraine not to turn the Black Sea into a battlefield. “This will not benefit either Russia or Ukraine,” he said, answering journalists’ questions during his return flight from Turkmenistan, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing DW.
Erdogan called for maintaining safe navigation in the Black Sea. In addition, the Turkish president expressed confidence in the possibility of achieving peace in Ukraine, which has become the target of Russian military aggression.
“Peace is just around the corner, we can see it. All we need to do is to set a course for peace,” he said.
Erdogan also noted that after the meeting with Putin, he plans to discuss the peace plan with US President Donald Trump.
Turkish Foreign Ministry calls for an end to strikes in the Black Sea
On the same day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called on Russia and Ukraine to stop fighting in the Black Sea. Ankara pointed to another Russian strike on the port of Chornomorsk in Odesa region, which damaged a foreign vessel.
“According to preliminary data, the crew and truck drivers have been evacuated, none of the Turkish citizens were injured,” the ministry said.
The day before, Kyiv reported that a Turkish vessel had been hit by a Russian air strike on port infrastructure in Odesa region. According to the Turkish shipping company Cenk, the vessel was transporting fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs.
A series of attacks on ships carrying Russian cargo
In recent weeks, there have been a series of attacks on ships carrying Russian cargo in the Black Sea. In particular, on December 2, an attack was reported on the tanker Midvolga 2 about 80 nautical miles (about 148 km) off the coast of Turkey, which was carrying cargo from Russia to Georgia.
on November 28, two Gambian-flagged tankers, the Kairos and Virat, were attacked in the Black Sea near the Bosphorus. Employees of the Turkish Coast Guard evacuated 25 crew members from Kairos, which caught fire after the attack. There were 20 crew members on board Virat, and their lives were not in danger, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said. According to Reuters, both tankers are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” and are under Western sanctions.
