Invasion of Ukraine: The crucial role of the Black Sea – The “unknown” power of Turkey

Russia has surrounded it Ukraine and the invasion is unleashed along all borderswith the result that the latter has sent a request to Turkey, to close the Dardanelles Strait. It is a passage that controls the entry of ships into the region and the neighboring country may not want to impose sanctions on Russia, but otherwise Erdogan could stand in the way of Putin.

As reported by aljazeera.com, Turkey has control of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles with 1936 agreementas a result of which it can regulates the passage of warships.

It also guarantees the free passage of civilian ships in peacetime and restricts the passage of ships not belonging to countries bordering the Black Sea.

However, everything changes in case of war.

The “weapons” of Turkey

The article among other things states that in time of war or when Turkey is threatened, authorized to close the straits on all foreign warships. Still, may refuse the passage of merchant ships from countries at war with Turkey and fortify the straits in the event of a conflict.

All the countries other than the Black Sea wishing to send ships must notify 15 days in advance, while the Black Sea states must notify eight days.

The passage is limited to nine warships of a specific total tonnage at a time, without allowing the passage of a ship over 10,000 tons. Ships of a country outside the Black Sea may not exceed a total of 30,000 tonnes and ships are allowed to stay in the area for no more than 21 days.

Source: News Beast

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