President Zelensky is saying publicly that Turkey has agreed to shut down transit to the Black Sea for Russian warships.
Apparently Zelensky and Erdoğan spoke by phone today. So far as I can tell, Erdoğan has not confirmed this potentially important news.
Ukraine has been pleading for Turkey to cut off Black Sea access for days. Previously Turkey has said that the international agreement governing access to the Black Sea would prohibit it from blocking Russian warships from returning to their Black Sea ports.
Zelensky’s tweet announcing the move could just be a way of amping up pressure on Turkey. Or it could be real.
A NATO member (Turkey) denying access to Russia to its home ports has potential ramifications for widening the conflict.
Update: If this posts feels a little hedged, it’s because Zelensky’s tweet doesn’t outright say that Turkey has agreed to this move. It strongly leaves that impression, but it’s mostly by juxtaposition.
Later update: There’s at least one denial by Turkey. Here’s more on why this would be a big (and unlikely) move by Turkey.
