Turkiye discusses Black Sea safety with NATO

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed Black Sea safety on Wednesday.

1news.media informs, citing Reuters, Ankara, a NATO member that has kept warm relations with both sides in the Russian war in Ukraine, has condemned attacks on vessels with links to Moscow that took place inside Turkiye’s exclusive economic zone off its coast in the Black Sea.

The attacks have sent Black Sea shipping insurance rates higher and prompted one Turkish company, Besiktas Shipping, to halt Russia-related operations over security concerns.

Ukraine, which is targeting Russia’s oil exports as Moscow bombards its power grid, has taken responsibility for an attack by seaborne drones on two empty tankers heading towards a Russian port last week.

Kyiv denied any link to another incident on Tuesday in which a Russian-flagged tanker loaded with sunflower oil said it had come under drone attack off the Turkish coast. Beyond the Black Sea region, a Besiktas Shipping tanker that also did business with Russia was damaged near Senegal by external impacts. No one claimed responsibility.

Fidan and Rutte, on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, discussed issues related to Black Sea security and the negotiations to end the nearly four-year war, the Turkish Foreign Ministry source said, giving no further details.