ISTANBUL, August 4. /TASS/. Ukrainian attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea pose risks to the regional shipping and threaten to destabilize it as the Iranian conflict is ongoing, expert on international relations, Professor Canan Tercan of Istanbul's Aydin University, told TASS commenting on the August 3 strikes of Ukrainian drones on two Turkish dry cargo ships near Novorossiysk.

"The attacks on Turkish civilian vessels in the Black Sea indicate that the war is no longer limited to the front line and has entered a new phase that poses a direct threat to regional security. Today, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly risky region for trade routes and civilian shipping. If we take into account the likelihood of a new escalation of tensions in the Middle East related to the Iranian conflict, it becomes obvious that the region is not ready to withstand new and larger conflicts," the expert said.

Tercan believes that Turkey's calls on the parties of the conflict to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue are a strategic necessity from the point of view of regional stability.

"A further spread of the Russian-Ukrainian war may for many years condemn the Black Sea to severe consequences in the economic, humanitarian and security spheres. This is why ending the war by diplomatic means will meet the common interests not only of the two countries, but also of all states with access to the Black Sea, as well as world trade," she said.

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed serious concern about the escalation of the conflict in the Black Sea. It said in a statement that the absence of preventive measures to reduce it will have serious consequences, including for food security.