Russia rejects Black Sea ceasefire

Moscow has rejected a Turkish proposal to stop Ukrainian and Russian attacks on ships in the Black Sea, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

Russia is repeatedly confronted with Ukraine’s “unbridled acts of terror,” she said in Moscow, accusing Ukraine of using drones to attack civilian ships from neighbouring states.

A “half-hearted measure” such as a limited ceasefire would only give Ukraine breathing space to rearm, she said, according to the ministry.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has systematically used drones to hunt Russian oil tankers and grain freighters in the Sea of Azov and off Russia’s Black Sea coast. A Turkish lorry ferry was also hit.

In response, Russia has attacked Ukrainian ports and brought international shipping there to a standstill.

Turkey calls Black Sea situation dangerous

Because of the dangerous situation in the Black Sea, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested a ceasefire in interviews.

However, the proposal did not reach Moscow via official channels, Zakharova said. Media reports also said there had been a Ukrainian proposal to stop the attacks, which was passed to Russia through third parties.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also rejected freezing ground fighting along the current front line in an interview with Moscow state television.

“That would mean allowing the achievements of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, who defeated Nazism, to be undone,” Lavrov said.

The Kremlin insists that Ukraine must withdraw from the last part of the industrial Donbass region that it still controls and defends.

Kiev has signalled that it is prepared to stop fighting along the front but rejects a withdrawal.