Erdogan Condemns Ukrainian Strikes on Oil Tankers Near Turkish Coast
Jakarta -โ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strongly criticized recentโค Ukrainian drone attacks targeting oil tankers in the โฃBlack Sea near Tรผrkiye’s coast, characterizing the incidents as a risky โฃescalation of the ongoing โconflict with Russia. The attacks raise concerns aboutโ theโ safetyโ of navigation, environmental risks, and potential threats too civilian life within Tรผrkiye’s exclusive economic zone.
The incidents,โค occurring on november 28th and 29th, involved โthe vessels Virat โฃ and Kairos, both of which experienced explosions, according to the Turkish Ministry of Transportation. A Ukrainian security sourceโค claimed responsibility, stating the ships where illicitly transporting Russian oilโค in violation of Western sanctions imposed following the โKremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Erdogan’s rebuke arrives as Ukraine faces mounting military and political pressure, coinciding with intensified diplomatic efforts led โฃby the United States to achieve a resolution to โthe conflict.
“We cannot accept this attack, which threatens the safety of navigation, the environment and life in our exclusive economic zone,” Erdogan โฃstated, adding that “The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage that threatens the safety of navigation in the โคblack Sea.”
Both the Kairos, flagged in Gambia, โand the Virat are subject to western sanctions as part ofโฃ a “shadow fleet” reportedly utilized by Russia to circumvent restrictions on its oil โexports. Tรผrkiye has maintained a neutral stance throughout the war,โ offering itself asโ a platform โขfor negotiations between the two sides. The country also holds a strategically importent position controlling theโ Bosphorus Strait, a critical maritime route for both Ukrainian grain and Russian โคoil shipments to the Mediterranean.
Erdogan affirmed Tรผrkiye’s commitment to monitoring โthe situation closely and contributing to efforts aimed at ending the โคconflict,stating,”We issued the necessary warnings to the parties concernedโฆand are ready to contribute atโข every opportunity.”
