Turkey can not stop the access of Russian warships to the Black Sea through its straits.
The statement came from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu, citing the Montreux Treaty.
Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to block Russian ships from crossing the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits leading to the Black Sea, following Russia’s invasion of its territory.
Under the Montreux Convention of 1936, Turkey is in control of the straits and may restrict the passage of warships during war or if threatened, but the request has put Turkey in a difficult position as it seeks to please the West. but also Russia.
In an interview with the Turkish Hürriyet, Tsavusoglu said: “Until now, Turkey has always implemented the Montreux Agreement without hesitation. In other words, in a war where Turkey is not a party, action can be taken against the participating countries. Turkey can stop the passage of warships through the Straits, but there is something else in the Montreux Convention, if there is a requirement for warships to return to their bases, then it must be allowed. If we, as Turkey, legally accept the state of war, this process will begin. Secondly, if we accept the state of war, we will ban the passage of warships within Montreux. At the conclusion of the agreement, Russia had its own clause, Articles 19, 20 and 21 regulate it. “the coastal country wants to cross with a request to return to its base, it is allowed”.
“Of course, this requires Turkey to characterize Russia’s attack as a ‘war,'” Tsavousoglu said.
Speaking in Kazakhstan, Tsavusoglu said that Turkey was studying Kiev’s request, but stressed that Russia had the right – under the treaty – to return the ships to their base, specifically in the Black Sea. Therefore, even if Turkey decided after a legal process to accept Ukraine’s request and close the straits to the Russian warships, it stated that it would simply prevent them from traveling in the opposite direction, away from their headquarters in Mediterranean.
For his part, the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey said that Kiev expects a “positive response” from Ankara to its request.
Tsavousoglu reiterated Ankara’s position on imposing economic sanctions on Russia, a stance that has set Turkey apart from most of its NATO allies who have already announced such measures.
Read also:
* How Russia used its Treaty Montreux and changed the underwater balances in the Mediterranean
* Russian armored submarine crosses Bosphorus: Russia finds way to circumvent Treaty Montreux;
* How are Turkey’s increasingly close relations with Ukraine explained?
* Turkey’s new submarines, the balances in the Aegean and the need of NATO in the Black Sea
Source: Capital
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