President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not comment on the shooting of an out-of-control drone over the Black Sea on Monday but urged Russia and Ukraine to stop targeting vessels.
As he addressed Turkish ambassadors at an event organized by the foreign minister in Ankara, Erdoğan said targeting commercial or civilian vessels had no benefit for either side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“By meticulously implementing the Montreux Convention, we prevented the war from spreading to the Black Sea. However, the recent reciprocal attacks pose a serious threat to maritime safety in the Black Sea. Targeting commercial and civilian vessels benefits no one. We are clearly conveying our warnings on this issue to both sides,” Erdoğan said.
The Montreux Convention, implemented in 1936, gave Türkiye full rights to control the Bosporus and Çanakkale or Dardanelles Straits. It gives complete freedom of navigation for civilian vessels in peacetime and limited access to military ships. However, Türkiye has the right to bar warships of countries in conflict if it is not directly involved in said conflict. The convention so far succeeded in maritime security for Türkiye, but in recent weeks, the Black Sea has been a hotbed of attacks by Russia and Ukraine, spilling over into Turkish territorial waters.
Turkish F-16 fighter jets shot down an “out-of-control” drone coming from the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
The device "was detected and tracked as part of routine procedures" and identified as "an unmanned aerial vehicle that had lost control," the ministry said in a statement.
Türkiye dispatched F-16 fighter planes, and "to prevent any adverse consequences, it was shot down in a safe location outside a populated area."
