The ministry told the AFP news agency that the mentioned attacks took place on Wednesday and Thursday.
“During the meeting, Turkey warned about the absolute necessity to ensure the safety of people, property, shipping, and the environment in the Black Sea,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said that on Wednesday, the Turkish container ship “Lider Bordo Mavi” was struck while sailing in the Black Sea waters near the Russian coast. The next day, according to the ministry, the ship “Lider Kocatepe,” sent to tow the cargo ship, was also attacked.
The ministry did not specify whether anyone was injured in these attacks.
According to Turkish local media, the container ship was towed to the Turkish port of Samsun.
Ankara has been urging Ukraine and Russia for several weeks to stop attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea.
Both warring countries, whose military conflict has been ongoing since February 2022 when Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, seek to damage each other’s export revenue sources.
Turkish commercial ships sailing under various countries’ flags are actively operating in the Black Sea, and several of them were damaged by drones suspected to have been launched by Ukraine.
Turkey – a NATO member maintaining relations with both Kyiv and Moscow – has not joined Western sanctions against Russia.
On August 8, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for a “moratorium” on attacks in the Black Sea.
“The conflict has spread across the entire Black Sea,” he said then, complaining that “they attack all commercial ships without exception.”
