MOSCOW

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Wednesday that attacks on ships within Türkiye's exclusive economic zone "deserve condemnation."

In an interview with the RTVI TV channel, Vershinin criticized the attacks as "unacceptable."

"We assess them as terrorist attacks, which naturally deserve condemnation," he stressed. "It's difficult for me to predict how this will affect the positions of other countries, particularly Türkiye, with which we have good and cordial relations."

He expressed doubt that the incidents would diminish Ankara's mediation potential, saying Russia "greatly appreciates" it as evidenced by the last three rounds of negotiations held in Istanbul.

"Indeed, they have already expressed grave concern over what happened in their economic zone, and I believe these feelings of concern are entirely justified.

Naturally, we support the search for a solution and oppose the delivery of weapons to the conflict zone, as this factor is destabilizing for us," Vershinin said.

He added that such actions contradict efforts to find a solution addressing the conflict's root causes.

The statement follows three incidents in late November and early December.

On Dec. 2, the Russian vessel Midvolga 2 was attacked by a drone 80 nautical miles from the Turkish coast, sustaining minor damage. Earlier, on Nov. 28, the tankers Kairos and Virat were attacked 28 and 38 nautical miles from the Turkish coast, respectively, resulting in a fire and hull damage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Dec. 1 that such attacks signal an alarming escalation and cannot be justified.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova slammed the attacks as "terrorist acts," adding that Ukrainian intelligence services had effectively claimed responsibility by publishing videos of the incidents.