Khaberni - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned on Saturday of turning the Black Sea into a "confrontation zone" between Russia and Ukraine, following a series of strikes witnessed in recent weeks.
The official Anadolu Agency quoted the Turkish President telling journalists aboard his plane, "The Black Sea should not be seen as a confrontation zone. This will not benefit either Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigational passages in the Black Sea."
A Russian airstrike damaged a Turkish ship in the port of Odessa in the Ukrainian Black Sea region, as announced by Kyiv and the operating company on Friday.
The attack came just hours after Erdoğan personally raised the issue with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan.
During his direct talks with Putin, Erdoğan called for a "partial ceasefire" in relation to attacks on ports and energy facilities in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The Anadolu Agency reported that Erdoğan said on board the plane that he primarily discussed the war and peace efforts with Putin.
"Like with all other parties, Putin is well aware of Turkey's position on this issue," he said, adding "After this meeting we had with Putin, we hope to have the opportunity to also discuss the peace plan with U.S. President (Donald) Trump."
"Peace is not far; we can see it now," he continued.
Turkey, which has sought to maintain its relations with both Moscow and Kyiv throughout the duration of the war, controls the Bosphorus Strait, a vital passage for transporting Ukrainian grain and Russian oil to the Mediterranean.
In recent weeks, several attacks targeting oil tankers linked to Russia in the Black Sea, some executed by drones, were announced by Kyiv as their responsibility.
These attacks have sparked sharp criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from Russia and Ukraine to express concerns about them.
