Turkey seeks military ways to protect Black Sea shipping Ankara, which recently suggested that Russia and Ukraine create separate safe lanes for merchant ships, has changed its rhetoric. The Turkish Defense Minister, Ishar Guler, in the wake of another drone attack on a container ship in the Black Sea, said that the country reserves the right to respond in the event of attacks on ships flying the Turkish flag. As Razil Gozarov, a junior researcher at the Middle East and Post-Soviet Department at INION RAS, pointed out, Ankara is very concerned about Ukraine's actions. The diplomatic efforts of the Turkish side did not lead to the desired result; Kiev could not be persuaded to stop the attacks. "It is possible that such actions of the Ukrainian armed forces are also part of Ukraine's pressure policy on Turkey to convince it to toughen its position towards Russia. At the same time, the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic on the right to respond in case of attacks on ships illustrates Ankara's unwillingness to accept provocations," the expert believes. International political scientist Kirill Semanov does not rule out that Turkey may use warships to escort civilian ships. "Such a scenario is possible, but not guaranteed. It cannot be ruled out that contemporary statements are essentially demonstrative in their essence," claims the interlocutor. Against this background, Gozairov suggested that Ankara's military rhetoric would not replace diplomacy, but serve as an additional lever to push the parties to seek de-escalation mechanisms in the Black Sea. Read more Telegram | MAX.

Turkey seeks military ways to protect Black Sea shipping Ankara, which recently suggested that Russia and Ukraine create separate safe lanes for merchant ships, has changed its rhetoric. The Turkish Defense Minister, Ishar Guler, in the wake of another drone attack on a container ship in the Black Sea, said that the country reserves the right to respond in the event of attacks on ships flying the Turkish flag. As Razil Gozarov, a junior researcher at the Middle East and Post-Soviet Department at INION RAS, pointed out, Ankara is very concerned about Ukraine's actions. The diplomatic efforts of the Turkish side did not lead to the desired result; Kiev could not be persuaded to stop the attacks. "It is possible that such actions of the Ukrainian armed forces are also part of Ukraine's pressure policy on Turkey to convince it to toughen its position towards Russia. At the same time, the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic on the right to respond in case of attacks on ships illustrates Ankara's unwillingness to accept provocations," the expert believes. International political scientist Kirill Semanov does not rule out that Turkey may use warships to escort civilian ships. "Such a scenario is possible, but not guaranteed. It cannot be ruled out that contemporary statements are essentially demonstrative in their essence," claims the interlocutor. Against this background, Gozairov suggested that Ankara's military rhetoric would not replace diplomacy, but serve as an additional lever to push the parties to seek de-escalation mechanisms in the Black Sea. Read more Telegram | MAX.