Ankara implements the Montreux Treaty

Ankara made it clear late last night that it would implement the Montreux Treaty, which allows it to ban warships to and from the Black Sea.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu said coastal and non-coastal countries had been warned not to request transit. He revealed that Russia has so far been scrutinizing whether Turkey will implement the treaty. The answer that Moscow was getting, as he stated, was that it would be implemented literally.

This revelation means, first of all, that for some time Ankara was talking about this issue with Moscow, which, as we have seen, passed barges brought from the Baltic before the war started. Second, coastal countries can pass their warships as long as they have declared their base in the Black Sea. In fact, no matter how much the request came from Ukraine, the one who benefits from the closure of the straits is Putin. Ukraine does not have a warship and a possible passage of NATO ships that would change the balance in the Black Sea has been ruled out until recently.

The issue of the implementation of the Montreux Treaty was also mentioned by the Minister of Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar. Akar did not limit himself to this, however, taking the opportunity to oppose the Greek Foreign Minister without naming him. Greek officials who have blackened their eyes, he said, continue their aggressive stance towards Turkey even on the occasion of the situation in Ukraine. He accused Greece of avoiding dialogue while Turkey calls on it, as he noted. In fact, he was threatening, saying that this is not a good course and everyone inside NATO sees it.

Andreas Robopoulos, Istanbul

Source: Deutsche Welle