"An alarming escalation". Erdoğan comments on strikes on Russian "shadow" tankers in the Black Sea

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned about the escalation of the situation after the strikes on the tankers of the "shadow fleet" of the aggressor country Russia in the Black Sea. The politician's words after the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers transmits state news agency Anadolu.

The Turkish leader said that Russia's war against Ukraine has reached a level that clearly threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.

"The attacks on merchant ships in our exclusive economic zone indicate an alarming deterioration of the situation. We can in no way justify these attacks, which threaten the safety of navigation, lives and the environment, especially in our exclusive zone," Erdoğan said.

The day before, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also expressed "concern" about an attack on these vessels.

Earlier, on November 29, the LIGA.net's interlocutor in the Security Service of Ukraine said that his agency and the Ukrainian Navy two tankers of the occupiers' "shadow fleet" were hit.

"Sea Baby marine drones disabled vessels that could carry almost $70 million worth of oil and helped the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions," the interlocutor emphasized.

Officially, Ukraine did not recognize the attack, and Turkey did not directly indicate Kyiv's involvement in the strikes.

• on December 1, it became known that in late November, explosions occurred on another tanker involved in the transportation of Russian oil the incident occurred off the coast of Africa.
• Meanwhile, Kazakhstan protested regarding the attack on the terminal of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the port of Novorossiysk. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that earlier this country did not speak out about Russia's strikes on Ukraine.