Türkiye summons Ukrainian, Russian envoys over Black Sea attacks

Türkiye summoned Ukraine's ambassador and Russia's acting charge d'affaires to the foreign ministry to convey its concerns over a series of attacks on Russia-linked vessels inside its exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci said on Thursday.

"We are witnessing a very serious escalation in recent weeks in the Russia-Ukraine war with reciprocal attacks. And lastly, there were certain attacks in the Black Sea within our exclusive economic zone as well," Ekinci told parliament's foreign affairs commission.

"Yesterday and today, we summoned Russia's acting charges d'affaires and Ukraine's ambassador to convey our concerns."

On December 2, the Russian vessel Midvolga 2 was attacked by a drone 80 nautical miles from the Turkish coast, sustaining minor damage.

Earlier, on November 28, the tankers Kairos and Virat were attacked 28 and 38 nautical miles from the Turkish coast, respectively, resulting in a fire and hull damage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on December 1 that such attacks signal an alarming escalation and cannot be justified.