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Attacks on tankers off Turkey indicate escalation of situation — Erdogan

The Turkish president stressed that Ankara cannot in any way justify these attacks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

© AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

ISTANBUL, December 1. /TASS/. The attacks on tankers carried out late last week in Turkey's exclusive economic zone indicate an alarming escalation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting he chaired. The event was telecast by TRT Haber.

"The attacks on merchant vessels within our exclusive economic zone indicate an alarming escalation. We cannot in any way justify these attacks, which threaten the safety of shipping, life, and the environment," Erdogan said.

"We are closely following the developments of recent weeks aimed at ending the war [in Ukraine], and at every opportunity we declare our readiness to make the necessary contribution to ending it," the Turkish president stated.

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