Analyst: Turkey's Response Weak to Ukraine's Attack on Its Ship

Ankara (ANTARA) - A Turkish political analyst, Nijat Sezgin, has assessed that Ankara’s response to the Ukrainian military attack on a Turkish-flagged merchant ship in the Black Sea was too weak compared with the scale of the threat and the potential for similar incidents to recur in the future.

According to a report by the IHA news agency, quoted by RIA Novosti in Ankara on Tuesday, Ukrainian unmanned aircraft attacked a Turkish merchant ship loaded with fruit and vegetables sailing to Russia through the Black Sea on Monday (3/8).

The attack, which according to the ship’s captain, Yalcin Sahin, involved six to seven drones, wounded four crew members.

“Türkiye must give a far firmer response to any attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on its merchant ships. If it is not answered politically or diplomatically, similar incidents may recur,” Sezgin told RIA Novosti.

In addition, Ankara should demand an international investigation into the attack on the Turkish-flagged ship and make use of diplomatic channels to prevent similar events in the future, he said.

According to Sezgin, attacks on merchant ships threaten the safety of international shipping in the Black Sea. However, the absence of an adequate response could set a dangerous precedent for future attacks on civilian vessels.

Sezgin judged that the situation risks disrupting trade, supply chains, logistics and stability in the Black Sea region if the international community fails to take effective preventive measures.