Turkey denies blocking Russian warships from Black sea straits

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan didn't tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Turkey would close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian warships, a senior Turkish official told Middle East Eye on Saturday.

"President Erdogan didn't promise to close the straits," the official, who is directly familiar with the call, said. "Turkey hasn't made a decision to close the straits to Russian ships yet."

The statement contradicted an earlier tweet by Zelensky, which was posted following his telephone conversation with Erdogan.

EXCLUSIVE: Turkey denies closing Black Sea to Russian warships