Türkiye may propose two Black Sea security corridors for ships bound for Russia and Ukraine – media
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that the war in the Black Sea is entering a "life-or-death" phase as attacks increasingly affect civilian merchant vessels, including Turkish-flagged ships.
This was reported by the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak, Censor.NET informs.
Ankara’s response
According to the Turkish minister, the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous, and the parties may resort to the "last available means".
Fidan said he had presented the Turkish president with a series of measures.
"We are putting them into effect," he said, without disclosing any details.
The newspaper recalled that Fidan had previously called on Russia and Ukraine to impose a moratorium on attacks against merchant vessels in the Black Sea.
According to Bloomberg, Turkey previously imposed restrictions on commercial shipping in the Black Sea in response to the growing number of attacks in the region. Speaking to Reuters, a Turkish official confirmed concerns about the security situation in the area, which prompted the authorities to introduce temporary measures. However, passage through the straits remains unrestricted under the Montreux Convention.
Real-time vessel tracking services analysed by Yeni Şafak journalists showed that a large queue of ships had formed in the Dardanelles. A maritime industry source told the newspaper that some vessels bound for Ukraine and Russia had waited nearly a week for passage due to "technical reasons".
As of the evening of Saturday, 8 August, vessel traffic through the strait had returned to normal.
The newspaper also reported that Turkey was discussing a possible ban on fishing beyond the country’s territorial waters in the Black Sea because of the danger to Turkish fishermen.
Two-corridor initiative
At the same time, the report stressed that maritime security in the Black Sea requires permanent structural solutions. The journalists cited the effectiveness of the grain corridor as an example. Yeni Şafak also noted that Iran and Oman were discussing a safe-passage arrangement in the Strait of Hormuz, with one corridor near the Iranian coast and another near the coast of Oman.
The newspaper said a similar arrangement could be introduced in the Black Sea by establishing two separate corridors for merchant vessels bound for Russia and Ukraine. Both sides could commit not to attack these corridors.
