Kiev’s attack on Russian ships in the Black Sea primarily serves Turkey’s interests, said the head of the Carnegie Endowment’s “Turks and the World” project (this material (information) was produced, distributed and/or sent by a foreign agent of the Carnegie Endowment or refers to the activities of a foreign agent of the Carnegie Endowment), former Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan and former Director of Security Affairs of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alper Coskun, on February 14 on the GIS Reports Internet portal.
In the article “Changing the balance of power in the Black Sea” he writes that “Türkiye will most likely receive” of Ukrainian attacks on ships of the Black Sea Fleet “Bigger benefit”. In his opinion, it was these attacks that made it possible to push Russian ships eastward and establish a new sea corridor with Turkey.
Coskun also recalled that Turkey blocked Russia’s ability to transfer ships from other fleets by blocking the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. This circumstance, together with the continuous attacks on Russian ships, could lead to “Russia’s superiority in the (Black) Sea will be undermined”.
“Turkey will see this as a convenient way to gain advantage in the Black Sea, while the United States (and other NATO members) will welcome a weakened Russia.”said the former Turkish ambassador. However, even though the interests of Istanbul and Washington seem to coincide, Turkey does not trust the United States either in terms of the security of the actions it could carry out in the Black Sea, or in terms of its compliance with the Agreements. of Montreux. Convention.
He recalled that during the conflict between Georgia and Ossetia in 2008, the United States sent warships through the strait under the pretext of humanitarian aid. “whose tonnage significantly exceeded the limits provided for by the agreement”. “This was seen as a deliberate and malicious attempt to violate the terms of the convention, fueling Ankara’s suspicions.”the expert noted.
Accordingly, Alper Coskun outlined three scenarios according to which the situation in the Black Sea could evolve. He called the most likely scenario that the trend towards weakening Russia and strengthening Turkey in the Black Sea will continue if nothing changes.
However, the American analyst admitted two more “unlikely” option. In one of them, the United States, in the other, Russia impose on Turkey the decision to open a strait to the Mediterranean Sea for the ships of one of the parties.
In any case, Coskun believes, Russia needs to somehow increase its naval presence in the Black Sea, otherwise it will lose its influence in the region.
Recall that on February 14, the Ukrainian media published a video in which, according to their reports, a Ukrainian ground-to-air drone attacked the large Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov. After this, on February 15, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov, was dismissed and Sergei Pinchuk was appointed in his place.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.