Türkiye has warned Russia against actions that would lead to an escalation of tensions in the Black Sea. Ankara made such a statement after the Russians threatened the Sukra Okan cargo ship heading to the Ukrainian port of Izmail.
“Following the incident with the ship counterparts from Russia are warned in an appropriate way to avoid these kinds of attempts that will escalate tensions in the Black Sea,” the presidency said.
At the same time, Türkiye guaranteed the safe passage of ships with Ukrainian agricultural products through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.
“… If it [a vessel from Ukraine] arrives, it will be passed through the straits,” said an unnamed source in Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense.
On August 16, the first civilian ship – the Joseph Schulte container ship under the flag of Hong Kong – departed through the new Ukrainian humanitarian corridor from the Odesa port. The ship entered the Bosphorus Strait on the morning of August 18.
“Ukraine has just made an important step toward restoring the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the ship left Odesa port.
