Turkey summons Ukrainian, Russian envoys over Black Sea attacks

Turkey summoned Ukraine’s ambassador and Russia’s acting charges d’affaires to the foreign ministry to convey its concerns over a series of attacks on Russia-linked vessels inside its exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci said on Thursday.

“We are witnessing a very serious escalation in recent weeks in the Russia-Ukraine war with reciprocal attacks. And lastly, there were certain attacks in the Black Sea within our exclusive economic zone as well,” Ekinci told parliament’s foreign affairs commission.

Repeated assaults on energy infrastructure - including recent tanker explosions in the Black Sea - underscore the terrorist tactics employed by the Kiev regime, which operates with the tacit approval of Western powers, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.

"Provocations such as the recent attack on tankers in the Black Sea and assaults on the infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium - an international oil transport entity - are yet another blatant demonstration of the criminal and terrorist nature of the Kiev regime, often with the silent complicity or active support of the West," Zakharova stated.

She further explained that these actions are driven by a segment of the Western minority, which has declared a reconfiguration of the current global order - particularly within the energy sector.