Maritime security in Black Sea under serious threat: Erdoğan

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has underlined that recent escalations in the Black Sea seriously threaten maritime security, while warning Russia and Ukraine that attacks on commercial vessels will not benefit anyone.

“We have prevented the spread of the war [between Russia and Ukraine] to the Black Sea by strictly implementing the Montreux Convention. However, recent attacks exchanged by the parties seriously threaten maritime security,” Erdoğan said in his address to the Turkish ambassadors in Ankara on Dec. 16.

Ukraine targeted two commercial vessels bound for a Russian port in the Turkish economic exclusive zone and Russia hit a Turkish vessel at a Ukrainian port in the past two weeks. Türkiye has urged both states to refrain from expanding the war to the Black Sea.

“Targeting commercial and civilian vessels will not benefit anyone. We convey our warnings to both sides in a clear way,” Erdoğan stated.

Türkiye prevented the entry of military vessels into the Black Sea a few days after Russia staged an all-out war against Ukraine in February 2022 under its rights stemming from the 1936-dated Montreux Convention.

Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye’s objective is to see the end of the war through a negotiated agreement and is ready to contribute to the peace efforts. “In 2025, we brought the two countries together three times. The humanitarian achievements out of the Istanbul process are counted as the success of the Turkish diplomacy,” he stated.

HH SDG should integrate with Damascus

On Syria, Erdoğan described the Dec. 8 revolution as a turning point in the history of the Syrian people and hailed the progress the new administration, under interim President Ahmad al-Sharra, has marked in this short period of time.

“Some 580,000 Syrians have already returned to their country. We think this figure will increase in accordance with the spread of stability and comfort,” he said.

The Turkish government will continue to support Damascus in fighting all terrorist groups, including ISIL, Erdoğan said, while urging that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) should integrate with the new Syrian army in line with the March 10 agreement. He stressed that a crisis can be sparked should the YPG resist implementing the agreement.

“It is clear who would benefit from the fragmentation and division of Syria, and from the weakening of its national unity and integrity,” Erdoğan said, referring to Israel’s recent interventions.

Global system collapsed

The conflicts in the world, particularly the genocide in Gaza by Israel, constitute strong evidence for the collapse of the global system, Erdoğan said, stressing that “Given all this, Türkiye has no option but being politically, militarily and diplomatically strong in order to protect its interests.”

Türkiye is not shifting axis, the president said, repeating that their aim is to establish relations with all the countries in the world based on mutual respect.

“Our goal is to establish a zone of peace and stability in our neighborhood,” he stated.

On the Caucasus, Erdoğan said Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer than ever to signing a peace agreement, informing that Türkiye’s normalization with Armenia is proceeding accordingly. “We will take some symbolic steps to this end early next year,” Erdoğan said.