By Murat Yıldız
Türkiye's effort to curb attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea has moved into presidential-level talks with both Russia and Ukraine, days after Ankara's written proposal became public.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised Black Sea navigation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York. The Kremlin has confirmed that the Turkish initiative was also discussed by Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin and was later followed up through diplomatic correspondence. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has accepted the Turkish draft.
During the New York meeting, Erdoğan said there could be no justification for attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea and called for steps to ensure safe navigation. He said Türkiye expected the parties to act responsibly and would continue efforts to restart direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy's office said the presidents discussed Black Sea security, particularly how to ensure the operation of the maritime export corridor.
"There are now various options on the table for how the corridor can be fully restored," Zelenskyy said.
He linked reciprocal restraint to Russian action, saying Moscow would first have to stop strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure for Kyiv to halt its long-range responses.
Moscow confirms Erdoğan-Putin talks
The Kremlin confirmed on September 22 that Türkiye had already raised the proposal with Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Turkish side brought up the issue during recent talks between Erdoğan and Putin in Bishkek and that it subsequently appeared in diplomatic correspondence.
Peskov did not say Russia had accepted the proposal.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on September 19 that Türkiye had sent proposals to both Russia and Ukraine and received responses. Fidan acknowledged that significant differences remained. "Frankly, both sides have demands and positions that are difficult to reconcile," he said, identifying the restoration of Black Sea grain shipments as Ankara's immediate priority because of the impact on countries dependent on food imports.
Ankara's written proposal
Türkiye circulated a draft memorandum to Russia and Ukraine earlier this month aimed at reducing attacks on civilian shipping and making Black Sea navigation safer. The proposal draws on the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to a Turkish diplomat.
Ankara had been pursuing the diplomatic effort long before the memorandum became public. As Bosphorus News documented on September 18, Turkish Foreign Ministry records trace efforts to establish a new Black Sea navigation arrangement to January 2025, with the discussions later developing toward a possible moratorium on attacks against civilian shipping.
The draft would rely more heavily on the territorial waters of Black Sea coastal states to reduce the time civilian vessels spend in exposed international waters. One option builds on Ukraine's existing route along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts. Another could use Georgian and Turkish territorial waters.
The most exposed stretch is roughly four to five nautical miles in international waters after vessels leave Ukrainian territorial waters, according to the Turkish diplomat.
At least 25 Turkish-owned vessels, including four sailing under the Turkish flag, had been hit since late June when the proposal emerged.
Erdoğan discussed the initiative with Putin before the written proposal became public. His New York meeting with Zelenskyy has now brought the shipping issue into Ankara's presidential talks with Kyiv.
Attacks raise shipping costs
The rise in attacks is also changing the commercial risk around Black Sea shipping.
London's Joint War Committee widened its listed high-risk area on September 16 to cover the Black Sea more broadly following the increase in attacks on shipping. The territorial waters of Türkiye, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia are excluded from the expanded area.
Russia has also begun shifting some grain exports toward Baltic and Arctic terminals. Before the latest disruption, nearly 90% of Russian seaborne grain exports moved through the Black Sea.
Moscow and Kyiv continue to attach different conditions to restraint, and no agreement has been reached on the Turkish proposal. Ankara is now pursuing the shipping issue with both governments at presidential and diplomatic levels.
Sources: Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, Office of the President of Ukraine, Kremlin, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joint War Committee, Reuters, Interfax, Bosphorus News review and reporting