Ukraine Summons Turkish Ambassador

On Friday, Ankara’s Ambassador in Kyiv, Yagmur Ahmet Guldere, was summoned to meet with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mykola Tochytsky to discuss the alleged transportation of anti-aircraft missiles from Syria to Russia via the Russian-registered vessel “Sparta II.”

For host countries to summon ambassadors is not uncommon, however, it almost exclusively occurs when a host country is disappointed with the actions of the ambassador’s country.

Officially, Kyiv presented a “note verbale.” In diplomatic affairs, a country presents a “note verbale” when it wishes to officially communicate a message in a fashion more formal than “aide-memoire,” but less formal than a regular “note.”

The public announcement of the meeting indicated that the Deputy Minister “drew the attention of the Turkish Ambassador to the fact that, according to the provisions of the Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits of July 20, 1936, the said vessel falls under the definition of a warship for the purposes of this convention. Tochytsky requested the Turkish side to provide official information about the cargo that was transported by the Sparta II vessel through the Bosphorus Strait, as well as the measures taken by Turkey to comply with the provisions of the convention and prevent further escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war.”

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Berezhinskaya, a theatre director, had railed against Russia’s actions in Ukraine, saying Moscow’s soldiers were killing civilians and destroying cities in a naked land grab.

The Deputy Minister pressed the Turkish representative on the importance of closing the Black Sea, as was promised on February 28, to all warships from Russia while the conflict with Ukrainian continues.

Turkey, a member of NATO, has not acted with the full-fronted opposition shown Moscow by Western Europe and North America. Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv. The Turkish leader indicated that, following his conversations with the Russians, he saw a means for achieving peace in Ukraine, but further details have yet to be released.

Turkey has continued to allow Ukraine to receive drones produced in Turkey.