Diplomatic Sources: US Canceled Warships Sending to the Black Sea

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, the US Embassy in Ankara notified the Turkish Foreign Ministry of the decision to cancel sending ships. Turkish diplomatic sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the United States canceled an earlier decision to send two warships to the Black Sea amid fears of a Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders. Washington and Brussels are alarmed by the accumulation of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine and in the Ukrainian Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Turkey said last week that Washington is sending two warships to the Black Sea. Russia called this step "an unfriendly provocation." Reuters sources claim that the US Embassy in Ankara has notified the Turkish Foreign Ministry of ship's dispatch cancellation without giving a reason. US administration sources, according to Reuters, say Turkey most likely misinterpreted the initial notification, as ships dispatch to the Black Sea was never confirmed by Washington. The United States often notifies Turkey of a potential entry of its ships into the Black Sea, sources said. However, the very fact of the request does not necessarily mean the inevitable passage of ships - it is rather a guarantee that the ships can enter the water area if necessary. Russia, which has already warned the US to stay "away from Crimea" and its Black Sea coast, says the build-up on the border with Ukraine is part of a three-week emergency military exercise to test combat readiness in response to "threatening behavior from NATO." ... The Kremlin assures that the exercises should be completed within the next two weeks. After reports of a possible dispatch of American warships appeared, the Russian Navy on Wednesday began exercises in the Black Sea, during which they practiced firing at surface and air targets. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called on Moscow to stop the troop buildup. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also called this week to put an end to the "alarming" events taking place in eastern Ukraine. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden called on Russia to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian borders. The White House said on Tuesday that during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden proposed a bilateral summit to resolve controversial issues and recommended that Moscow reduce the degree of tension in its relations with Kiev.