Turkmenistan rejects maritime attacks in Caspian Sea, defends peaceful status

Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry has described attacks on vessels in the Caspian Sea as unacceptable, according to a statement from the ministry's press service.

"On July 25, 2026, reports about an attack on a vessel in the waters of the Caspian Sea were published in international media. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan declares the inadmissibility of such actions," the statement published on the ministry's website on July 27 said.

"Turkmenistan, as a Caspian state and a country with a status of permanent neutrality recognised by the United Nations, emphasises that the Caspian is a sea of peace, harmony and good-neighbourliness," the statement added.

Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry said that early on Saturday, July 25, Ukrainian forces had struck an Iranian-flagged vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor and injuring another. The vessel, carrying civilian cargo, was travelling from the Russian port of Astrakhan to the Iranian port of Anzali.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, warned that the Ukrainian strike on the Iranian commercial vessel would not go unanswered.

By Jeyhun Aghazada