Turkey Detains 27 Russian Commercial Ships in Retaliation

As Russia has detained eight commercial ships flying Turkish flags in the Black Sea since the jet crisis erupted between the two countries, Turkey has detained a total of 27 Russian ships in a retaliatory move, as reported by daily Habertürk on Dec. 16. The diplomatic crisis between Russia and Turkey has continued to result in economic ramifications since Nov. 24 when the Russian jet was downed by Turkey. One of these areas is marine trade, according to sources close to the matter. Sources told daily Habertürk that Russia detained a total of five commercial ships with Turkish flags “in line with the Black Sea Memorandum” in the week following the jet incident. “The number of detained Turkish ships has reached eight as of Dec. 15,” sources claimed. They added that Turkey did nothing in the beginning, with the expectation of halting of such moves by Russia. As Russia continued to act in this manner, Turkey has decided to do the same in line with the “reciprocity principle,” according to sources. Turkish officials have detained a total of 27 ships with Russian flags as of Dec. 15 due to missing documents or transactions in line with the Mediterranean and Black Sea memoranda, sources added. Authorities from the both countries have started to discuss the issue via e-mail, and Russia has given Turkey green light to talk about the issue. “It is not clear where or when to meet. The parties have showed their intention to overcome the issue,” sources said.