Turkish president warns Black Sea should not become "area of confrontation"

ANKARA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Black Sea should not become "an area of confrontation" between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

"The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigation in the Black Sea," Türkiye's semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying.

Erdogan made the remarks aboard his plane back to Türkiye from Turkmenistan, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an international peace forum and called for a "limited ceasefire" to halt attacks targeting energy and port facilities in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Recently, Ankara has been reiterating its concerns about the Russia-Ukraine conflict spreading into the Black Sea. In early December, Türkiye's exclusive economic zone saw several drone attacks on Russia-flagged or Russia-bound tankers, for which Ukraine claimed responsibility.

On Friday, a missile struck a Turkish-owned civilian ship at Ukraine's Chornomorsk port near Odesa, causing damage but no reported casualties. Ukrainian authorities have claimed it was "a Russian attack," on which the Russian side has not commented yet.■