The German-language press refers to Turkey’s decision to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. A look back at a complex historical issue.
“Turkey closes Bosphorus for Russian navy” is the title of the Swiss New Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)“The Turkish Straits are the only passage from the Black Sea to the high seas and are therefore of great strategic importance. The same is true of the Russian attack on Ukraine. In recent weeks the Russian navy has had transports warships from the Baltic and North Sea fleets to the Black Sea, as well as submarines and the Rostov-on-Don submarine. “Turkey should ban the passage of more Russian warships through the Straits.”
As the Zurich newspaper points out, “this is a very delicate issue for Ankara. With the 1936 treaty, Turkey regained control of the Straits after the defeat in World War I. The Straits include the Sea of Marmara, as a sea However, this does not mean that Turkey is doing what it wants. The treaty is governed by the basic principle that free navigation must be ensured. “If Turkey is one of the warring parties, it has the right to ban the passage without any restrictions. But even if it is not, the warships of the warships are not allowed to cross the Straits.” Beyond that, the Swiss newspaper notes, “the issue has not only a legal but also a political dimension. In implementing the Montreux Treaty, Ankara has always taken into account Russian interests as well.”
Erdogan on the side of Kiev
For the same issue the German The World “In recent years, Turkey, a NATO member, has always emphasized its very close relations with Ukraine. Erdogan had strongly condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, due to the historical presence of Turkish Tatars on the peninsula. Moscow has been angered by Turkey as it began supplying Ukraine with unmanned aerial vehicles, while Erdogan is said to have a good personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Defense relations, despite their differing positions on the Syrian issue – among other things. The purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft system by Turkey has caused resentment among its NATO partners.”
The correspondent of the television network ZDF points out that Turkey has close relations with both Russia and Ukraine. “Turkey has strongly condemned the Russian attack, calling for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” he said. “On the other hand, Turkey is economically dependent on Russia and this is especially true for the energy sector. The Turkstream pipeline, which supplies Turkey with Russian gas, passes through the Black Sea. Russia is the largest exporter of grain. and other agricultural products that are important to Turkey “.
Competition since … 1453
Historical background from the Austrian newspaper The standard“The struggle for supremacy in the Straits between Russia and the Ottoman Empire began in 1453, when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, dealing a deadly blow to the Byzantine Empire. At that time the Ottomans had control of almost all Black Sea coasts, including Crimea, but by the 17th century, however, the Tsarist Kingdom was steadily strengthening, while the Ottoman Empire was weakening, with the Ottomans losing the Caucasus, then the northern Balkan provinces. In present-day Romania and Bulgaria the tsarist army launched successive attacks to occupy the Straits in the 18th and 19th centuries, reaching near Constantinople around 1880. At the end of World War I the British and French occupied Constantinople and the R abstained was that two years ago the Bolsheviks had overthrown the Tsar and entered into a separate lasting peace with the Ottomans and the Germans “.
“With the victory in the Turkish War of Independence,” the Vienna newspaper continues, “the Turks recaptured Constantinople and the Straits, while with the Treaty of Montreux in 1936 they finally regulated the passage of the Straits. Or so everyone thought. At the end of World War II, Joseph Stalin questioned Turkish sovereignty in the Straits, which was the main reason why, as early as 1952, Turkey joined NATO, turned against the Soviet Union and joined the West ( defense) alliance “.
Giannis Papadimitriou
SOURCE: Deutsche Welle
Source: Capital
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