Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, announced on Thursday that the increasing attacks by Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea have severely jeopardized navigation safety in the region ahead of the winter season. He also stressed the necessity of preventing the Black Sea from becoming a new front in the war.
Turkey's Efforts to Reduce Tensions
Turkey, as a NATO member, has maintained good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ankara has repeatedly urged both sides to cease attacks in the Black Sea, attacks that have also harmed commercial vessels flying the Turkish flag and owned by Turkey. Turkey is awaiting a response to a proposal it sent to stop the attacks and ensure the safe shipment of grain from this region to Russia and Ukraine.
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Impact of the War on the Black Sea
Fidan continued, "Currently, both sides are trying to gain a specific military advantage over each other before entering the winter season, and this significantly affects navigation safety in the Black Sea." He also added, "As regional countries and the international community, we must not allow the Black Sea to become a new front for conflict. Unfortunately, as we can see, the expansion of the war is also showing its effects on the Black Sea."
Turkey and the United Nations mediated the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2022 to enable the safe export of Ukrainian grain under wartime conditions. However, Russia withdrew from this agreement last year and pointed to serious obstacles in its food and fertilizer exports.
Since July, Ukraine has increased its attacks on vessels and infrastructure related to Russian oil and grain exports, while Russia has also intensified its missile and drone attacks on major Ukrainian grain export hubs, including Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi.
In a meeting in late September, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that the attacks by Russia and Ukraine on commercial vessels in the Black Sea are unjustifiable and that actions must be taken to stop these attacks.
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