The United States has cancelled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea, Turkish diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, amid concerns over a Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders.
Washington and NATO have been alarmed by the build-up near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Last week, Turkey said Washington would send two warships to the Black Sea, in a decision Russia called an unfriendly provocation.
The U.S. Embassy in Ankara had notified Turkey's foreign ministry of the move, the sources said, but did not provide a reason. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency later reported that no new notices had been conveyed to Ankara for potential deployments at later dates.
U.S. officials said that Turkey may have misunderstood the initial notification and the deployment was never confirmed.
They said the United States frequently notifies Turkey for potential access to the Black Sea. But a request does not necessarily mean its ships will pass through, but rather ensures that if they choose to, they already have the required approval.
