“I thank my friend Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people for their strong support. The ban on the passage of Russian warships in the Black Sea and the significant military and humanitarian support are extremely important to Ukraine today. The Ukrainian people do not. he will never forget it! “Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky tweeted on Twitter, announcing that Turkey would agree to ban the passage of Russians through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which was refused until yesterday.
Immediate reply from Russia which says it has not “received any official notification” from Turkey about the closure of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to its warships, through which the Black Sea is accessed from theMediterranean . This was stated by the Moscow embassy in Ankara to Interfax.
Indeed , Turkey has not yet decided whether to ban the entry of Russian warships into the Black Sea through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles , despite the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “President Erdogan has not promised closure,” a Turkish government official told Middle East Eye. “Turkey – he pointed out – has not yet taken a decision on the closure of Russian ships”.
Meanwhile, the Turkish agency Anadolureports that President Erdogan is working “for an immediate ceasefire” to end the “suffering of Ukraine”. And he would have reiterated this in an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after having branded the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “unacceptable”.
To the question and answer between Russia and Ukraine on the possible blockade of the Bosphorus is added the seizure of the cargo ship ” Baltic Leader”by the French authorities in the Channel, the ship stopped in application of the new EU sanctions against Moscow because it was suspected of belonging to a company hit by those sanctions. The Russian Embassy in Paris “will send a protest note to the French Foreign Ministry and will take the necessary measures to protect the rights and interests of Russian sailors”. The Montreux Convention Zelensky’s tweet and Moscow’s response bring the Montreux Convention
back to the fore, signed in 1936, which regulates the passage of ships (both civil and military) through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, a never updated convention which in its paragraphs still sees the Council of the “League of Nations” as the arbiter of disputes that may concern it .
The Montreux Convention identifies a whole series of rules,both in times of peace and in times of war, which regulate the transit of surface ships and submarines, establishes the maximum tonnage that the non-coastal powers of the Black Sea can maintain within the Black Sea itself and the time limit of stay of foreign fleets. Among other things, the Montreux Convention indicates when, and according to what modalities, Turkey has the right to prevent the transit of naval units of third states through the two straits. And that is: In case of war :
1) if Turks are not involved
– there is free transit for anyone.
2) if Turks are involved:
– free transit for civilian ships belonging to non-hostile countries and which do not collaborate with adversaries and must follow the route established by the authorities. As for the military units, Ankara has the power of veto.
3) In case of imminent danger of war:
– there is free transit for civilian ships but according to rules determined by the local authorities.
-Ankara can decide whether or not to pass military units. The government may also place limits on ships above a certain tonnage.
All this was confirmed, in an interview with AGI, by Admiral Cem Gurdeniz , a key figure in Turkish claims in the Eastern Mediterranean and an expert in military strategy.
Investigated and imprisoned after the 2016 coup, and returned to prison last spring for a controversy with the government linked to Kanal Istanbul, the mega project with which Erdogan wants to unite the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Marmara through an isthmus which, according to the admiral, would violate the Montreux convention.
“We are witnessing the last chapter of the Cold War and once again Turkey finds itself pulled in the middle due to its strategic position. Montreux is clear, Ankara can close Dardanelles and Bosphorus to the passage of ships from warring countries”
And he adds “Not It is true that Turkey is obliged to stay with Ukraine, Turkey can choose neutralitythanks to the Montreux agreements and to close the passage to the ships of countries at war. Montreux remains the greatest guarantee of Turkey’s autonomy. We closed the passage to American and German ships during the Second World War and we can do it again “recalls the admiral.
