The Black Sea as a Test of Diplomacy: What Turkey Offers Kyiv and Moscow

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, stated that Ankara is offering Ukraine and Russia a separate agreement on the security of shipping in the Black Sea. The statement came amid new talks of a ceasefire — cautious, fragmented, and so far without a breakthrough.

Turkey is once again trying to take on the role of a mediator. Not a global arbiter, but a practical player working with specific risks.

What Ankara is specifically proposing

Fidan clarified: the issue was raised during the meeting of the President of Turkey with Vladimir Putin. According to him, Turkey insists on agreements in at least two areas.

The first is the exclusion of strikes on energy infrastructure.
The second is guarantees of the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

If a comprehensive ceasefire is unattainable, Ankara proposes to proceed step by step — through limited but effective agreements.

The experience Turkey refers to

Fidan recalled the grain deal, which previously operated with Turkey’s mediation. In his assessment, it was precisely this that allowed for maintaining relative stability in the Black Sea.

“Despite the ongoing war, the Black Sea and trade in Ukraine functioned without serious problems,” noted the minister, emphasizing the role of Turkish diplomacy.

For Ankara, this is an argument: the model has already worked. Therefore, it can be attempted to be restored — albeit in a reduced format.

Eastern Ukraine — a separate and complex issue

Speaking about the eastern regions of Ukraine, under Russian occupation, Fidan expressed a position that immediately raised questions. He stated that the path to stability might pass through elections and referendums in Ukraine.

The wording is cautious but sensitive. In the conditions of war, any talks of referendums are perceived painfully and ambiguously — both in Kyiv and beyond.

Why Turkey is active again

Ankara sees the Black Sea not only as a military but also as an economic hub. Shipping, insurance risks, exports, food security — all of this is directly connected to the region.

Therefore, the focus is not on loud peace conferences but on targeted agreements that reduce tension here and now.

What this means in practice

Turkey’s proposal is not a peace plan. It is an attempt to freeze the most dangerous points, without touching the entire conflict.

Whether such logic will work is an open question. But the very fact of returning to the discussion of ship safety shows: diplomacy is seeking solutions where military decisions have reached an impasse.

Such signals — intermediate, imperfect, but indicative — are important today for understanding where the region is heading. Their analysis and contextualization are part of the work of NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency, where attention is paid not to statements for headlines, but to real attempts to change the situation on the map.