Turkey has proposed to Russia and Ukraine that they refrain from striking ships in the Black Sea. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced this proposal in an interview with the Anadolu agency.
"We have called on the parties [to the conflict] to create a mechanism for declaring a moratorium on this issue. We have already received requests from the Ukrainians regarding this matter. We have also conveyed this to our Russian colleagues. We are awaiting a response on this issue," the diplomat stated.
Fidan noted that hostilities in the Black Sea pose a threat to civilian shipping and commercial transport. "Turkish vessels, or vessels with Turkish owners or crew, are being attacked, which is becoming a serious problem for us," he emphasized.
According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, "where no one makes concessions, the war continues, escalating in intensity until it creates space for concessions itself." He expressed confidence that the international community should influence the situation, which has become dangerous.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Turkish authorities had restricted commercial vessel traffic in the Black Sea due to an increase in attacks. Specifically, the Turkish Directorate General of Coastal Safety notified several vessels heading to Novorossiysk that transit permits for such voyages were not being issued at the moment. It also increased the processing time for applications to pass through the Dardanelles.
Prior to this, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called on Russia and Ukraine to de-escalate tensions in the Black Sea. " escalation in the Black Sea will have multifaceted negative consequences, including food security," the diplomatic department warned on August 4.
The newspaper "Kommersant" reported that this week, at least four shipping lines operating in the Black Sea introduced surcharges for war risks. Market participants expect that some cargo will be rerouted to land routes passing through Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.
