Russia rejects Türkiye's proposal for Black Sea ceasefire

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said Russia sees no point in returning to the 2022-2023 Black Sea Grain Initiative or suspending hostilities in the Black Sea.

Source: Zakharova in a comment to the press; Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview

Quote from Zakharova: "If we're talking about the 2022-2023-style unilateral scheme, better known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Moscow suspended hostilities in the Black Sea – or, more precisely, response measures to protect Russian port infrastructure and energy facilities – then returning to that option makes no sense. The condition for implementing the agreement was equivalent reciprocal steps from the other side, and those simply never happened."

Details: Zakharova gave this response when asked whether the Russian side received a proposal from Türkiye to introduce a moratorium on military action in the Black Sea and whether it was prepared to consider the option.

According to Zakharova, Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently told the press that Turkish proposals for a moratorium on military action in the Black Sea have been passed to both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. However, she said, Russia has not received any formalised Turkish appeal through official channels.

During his interview, Lavrov also accused Türkiye and the US of failing to react to Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea.

Quote from Lavrov: "But we weren't the ones who started this. When a drone belonging to Ukraine's armed forces strikes a Turkish dry cargo ship, a tanker or a civilian vessel, when these same drones repeatedly attack infrastructure belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the Caspian Sea, hitting vessels directly linked to American companies Chevron and ExxonMobil, in response neither Türkiye nor the United States say that the actions of Ukrainian terrorists are unacceptable."

More details: Lavrov claimed that Türkiye and US Vice President JD Vance have privately signalled to Ukraine that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium should not be targeted.

Background:

• Last week, Türkiye called on Russia and Ukraine to take steps to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea after a drone attack near the Russian port of Novorossiysk damaged a Turkish-owned vessel and left three crew members seriously injured.
• On 9 August, Fidan said that Türkiye has called on Ukraine and Russia to impose a moratorium on strikes against merchant vessels in the Black Sea. Commenting on the prospects for ending the war, Fidan acknowledged that neither side is inclined to make concessions while they still have the ability to continue military operations. In his view, once both sides have become exhausted, they will conclude that they need to sit down at the negotiating table and reach a peace agreement.
• On 12 August, The Financial Times reported that Ukraine has halted its intensive campaign of drone strikes against oil tankers using the major Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after a request made by Vance at the end of last month.
• Washington was concerned that Ukraine could further destabilise oil markets and harm US companies by striking tankers carrying oil transported by pipeline from Kazakhstan to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
• Since then, Ukraine has not struck tankers near the CPC terminal and has agreed not to strike CPC infrastructure facilities or non-Russian vessels, provided that the vessels are not subject to Ukrainian sanctions and are not carrying Russian oil or other Russian cargo.
• On the night of 28-29 May, Russian forces conducted a deliberate strike on a Turkish-operated dry cargo ship travelling from a port in Odesa Oblast to Türkiye on the night of 28-29 May. The attack caused a fire and left crew members injured.

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