Erdogan calls Black Sea attacks on merchant ships a 'worrying escalation'
"The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea," Turkish President Erdogan says.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised attacks on oil tankers heading for Russia near Türkiye's Black Sea coast as a "worrying escalation", in remarks after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.
Two ships, the Virat and the Kairos, were rocked by explosions off Türkiye's coast late Friday, according to the Turkish transport ministry, with the Virat struck again early on Saturday.
"We cannot under any circumstances accept these attacks, which threaten the safety of navigation, the environment and lives in our exclusive economic zone," Erdogan said of the strikes on Monday.
"The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea," he added.
Erdogan's criticism came as Ukraine faced pressure on both the military and political fronts, and as negotiators stepped up work on US-led efforts to end the conflict.
"We are issuing the necessary warnings to the parties concerned. We are also closely monitoring developments with a view to ending the conflict and stand ready to contribute at every opportunity," Erdogan said.
Historic milestone
Türkiye's KIZILELMA, an unmanned fighter jet, scored a world-first in aviation history this weekend, the president said, arguing that the country is experiencing "this dynamism" across all fields.
The unmanned combat aircraft achieved a new milestone as it struck a jet-powered target aircraft with a beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile, its developer Baykar said on Sunday.