ISTANBUL - Turkiye summoned Ukraine’s ambassador over attacks this week in the Black Sea against a Turkish vessel, and against a second ship that came to tow the first, the country’s foreign ministry said Saturday. The attacks happened on Wednesday and Thursday, the ministry told AFP. “During the meeting, Turkiye warned about the absolute need to ensure the safety of people, of assets, of navigation and of the environment in the Black Sea,” the ministry said in a statement. It said the Turkish container ship Lider Bordo Mavi was hit on Wednesday while it was off the Russian coast on the Black Sea. The next day, the ship Lider Kocatepe sent to tow the cargo vessel was also targeted, the ministry said. The ministry did not say whether there were any casualties in the attacks. According to local Turkish media, the container ship was towed to the Turkish port of Samsun. Ankara has been calling for weeks on Ukraine and Russia to suspend their attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea. Each of the warring countries has been seeking to damage the other’s sources of export revenues as part of their conflict, which Russia started in 2022 with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Turkish commercial ships are active in the Black Sea, sailing under various countries’ flags, and several have been hit by drones suspected to be launched by Ukraine. Turkiye, a NATO member country that maintains relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, has not joined Western sanctions levelled against Russia. On Aug. 8, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for a “moratorium” on Black Sea attacks. “The conflict has spread across the whole Black Sea,” he said at the time, complaining that “they are attacking all commercial shipping without distinction.”
