A Turkish diplomat announced that Ankara sent a proposal to Russia and Ukraine that would end attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea. The move follows a sharp increase in attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea in recent months, often using drones.
At least 25 Turkish-owned vessels, four of them flying a Turkish flag, have been hit since late June, industry figures show.
"We have shared a text of a memorandum, a draft text, with the Russians and the Ukrainians to come up with a solution to those strikes taking place in the Black Sea," the diplomat told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday.
Türkiye has been pushing Russia and Ukraine to suspend attacks on civilian vessels, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan demanding a "moratorium" on Aug. 8 in a call that appeared to have fallen on deaf ears. The attacks have intensified as the foes seek to damage the other's export revenues, with the war now raging into a fifth year.
NATO-member Türkiye maintains relations with Kyiv and Moscow and has declined to join Western sanctions against Russia. Its ships are very active in the Black Sea, sailing under various countries' flags, with several hit by drones believed to be launched by Ukraine.
In August, the Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Ukraine's envoy following an attack on the Lider Bordo Mavi, a container ship off the Russian coast, and a subsequent attack on the Lider Kocatepe, which was sent to tow it away. Both are Turkish-owned vessels. Anchored in the northeastern port of Trabzon, the Lider Bordo Mavi appeared to have sustained damage to its bridge deck and the two decks below, showing signs of major fire damage, AFP correspondents said.
Türkiye has repeatedly raised the idea of reviving the grain corridor format to safeguard Black Sea shipping, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying he would discuss the matter with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in November. The Turkish diplomat said the proposal was "inspired by" a 2022 deal brokered by Türkiye and the U.N. to grant safe passage for Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea without risk of attack.
Although Russia pulled out of the so-called grain corridor mechanism a year later, Ukraine set up an alternative shipping route that hugs the coast of Romania and Bulgaria. "In that mechanism, there is maybe a four- or five-mile gap where the Ukrainian ship has to leave the national territorial waters and travel in international waters, which is the risky part," the diplomat explained. "So our offer is also inspired by this."
As well as using a route flanking Romania and Bulgaria, the official also suggested another route along the eastern and southern shores of the Black Sea along the coastlines of Georgia and Türkiye.
"We want to use the territorial waters of the adjacent states, including Türkiye and Georgia, if they are willing to take part," the diplomat said.
