ISTANBUL

Türkiye's KIZILELMA, an unmanned fighter jet, scored a world-first in aviation history this weekend, the president said on Monday, arguing that the country is experiencing "this dynamism" across all fields.

The unmanned combat aircraft achieved a new milestone as it struck a jet-powered target aircraft with a beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile, its developer Baykar said on Sunday.

Full membership to the EU remains Türkiye's strategic priority despite obstacles, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Referring to attacks on two commercial tankers in the Black Sea, he said the Ukraine war appears to have reached a level that clearly threatens navigation safety in the Black Sea.

Targeting of merchant ships in Türkiye's Exclusive Economic Zone "signals a worrying escalation," the Turkish president stressed.

Ankara cannot excuse attacks on its Exclusive Economic Zone, "which threaten navigation, life and environmental safety," he said.