The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, today condemned the attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea and called for the immediate reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.
© REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
22/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ Cwe went through our contacts with the parties to restore freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, ensure food security and prevent the war from extending to a wider region,” said Erdogan in New York.
“ The recent attacks on commercial ships are unacceptable, no matter who the author is,” the Turkish leader added, in a reference to the operations attributed to both Russia and Ukraine.
Turkey has recently presented to Moscow and Kiev a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea, including ships of Turkish shipowners.
According to the Turkish Maritime Chamber of Commerce (Imeak), about 25 ships belonging to Turkish shipowners were attacked during the summer.
Ankara had already proposed, in early August, a “moratory” to attacks against commercial vessels, given the worsening of maritime insecurity in the region.
On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan acknowledged the difficulties in the negotiations on Ankara's text.
“ We found that both parties have demands and positions that are difficult to reconcile,” he said.
In the same speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Erdogan called on the international community to proceed immediately with the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, devastated by the Israeli offensive following the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas of October 7, 2023.
“ We must begin the reconstruction of Gaza immediately. In this sense, I call for greater pressure on Israel,” Erdogan said.
The Israeli delegation left plenary when the Turkish President called on countries that have not yet recognised the Palestinian State to reconsider their position.
Erdogan insisted on the need to protect civilian populations affected by conflict in the Middle East, in particular Palestinian children.
“ The children of Gaza need to be safe. When Palestinian children look to the sky, they must see parrots flying freely, not fighters or armed drones,” said the President of Turkey.