Türkiye suggests new deal for Black Sea security after attacks

Türkiye is worried that increasing attacks on vessels in the Black Sea, including on ships owned by Turkish firms, may destabilize maritime security. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan proposes a new, limited agreement between Russia and Ukraine to stop the attacks.

In the latest instance of attacks on ships in the Black Sea, a Turkish-owned boat was struck by Russian forces in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Friday. The cargo vessel was damaged by a suspected missile attack at Ukraine's Chornomorsk port, the ship’s operator has said. No one was injured in the attack that set the vessel on fire. Since November, at least three ships have been struck in the Black Sea, near Turkish waters, in attacks attributed to Ukrainian forces hunting down an alleged “shadow fleet” of oil tankers that Russia utilized to evade Western-imposed sanctions.

Speaking to Turkish broadcaster TVNET on Saturday night, Fidan said Türkiye has long warned against the conflict's spillover and that it is now spreading further. “Such things happen toward the end of conflicts. Everyone is raising the stakes, and they attack all fronts,” Fidan said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Sunday for a "dignified" peace and guarantees that Russia would not attack Ukraine again as he prepared to meet U.S. envoys and European allies in Berlin to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a peace deal that initially backed Moscow's demands, Zelenskyy accused Russia of dragging out the war through deadly bombings of cities and Ukraine's power and water supplies.

Fidan noted that both sides were launching strikes on energy infrastructure, and that retaliation, unfortunately, disrupted commerce via the Black Sea.