Turkish FM Fidan calls for peace in Ukraine war, warns of Black Sea security deterioration

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday that achieving peace in the Russia-Ukraine war is essential for regional stability, warning that maritime security in the Black Sea is steadily deteriorating as the conflict expands.

Speaking at a joint press conference following the 10th Trilateral Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Georgia at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, Fidan said: "The war continuing in our north directly affects the security of our region. We see achieving peace in the Russia-Ukraine war as essential for the stability and security of our region."

Fidan expressed concern over a deadlock both on the battlefield and in diplomatic efforts. "We are all following with concern the current impasse in both the battlefield and diplomatic process," he said. "The steps taken by the parties to turn this deadlock to their advantage are unfortunately further increasing tensions on the ground."

Fidan said maritime security in the Black Sea has been steadily deteriorating as the war expands. He noted that mines and unmanned maritime vehicles had drifted as far as the Turkish Straits and that Georgia had also become vulnerable to attacks. "The unfortunate incidents mentioned in the question have repeatedly demonstrated how justified our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's sensitivity toward securing a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war has been from the very beginning," he said.

Fidan recalled Türkiye's role in facilitating the Black Sea Grain Initiative and described the agreement as a historic success. He stressed the importance of ensuring that Turkish and other civilian vessels are not targeted and warned that drones, missiles, and identification errors in combat zones could lead to further tragedies. "But solving the issue at its root will be the greatest answer to all these problems. That is why we place great emphasis on ceasefire negotiations," he said.

Fidan said the trilateral mechanism has operated uninterruptedly for nearly 14 years. "We see this mechanism not only as serving the common interests of our three countries, but also as one of the guarantees of peace, stability, and sustainable prosperity in the South Caucasus," he said.

He described the June 2 ceremony marking the Georgian section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway reaching full operational capacity as a significant milestone. "We want our region to be known for development projects rather than conflicts and for shared prosperity and connectivity projects rather than divisions," Fidan said.

Fidan said ministers discussed ongoing negotiations between Iran and the US and stressed the importance of preventing a conflict that could bring both the region and the world "to the brink of disaster."

On the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Fidan said: "We support the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We also hope that Azerbaijan's legitimate concerns will be addressed and that the peace agreement will be signed without delay."