Turkey said on Tuesday, the 2nd of January, that it would not allow two Royal Navy minehunter ships donated last month by Britain to the Ukrainian Navy to pass through its waters on their way to the Black Sea, citing concerns over violations of the international Montreux Convention, which deals with crossing straits during wartime, reports Reuters.
The presidency’s communications directorate said Turkey would not allow minehunters donated to Ukraine to help strengthen its naval operations to pass through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, citing the ongoing war in Ukraine as the reason for the restriction.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022,
Turkey applied the 1936 Montreux Convention, blocking the movement of military vessels from the warring parties through its waters.
The Montreux Convention exempts ships returning to their home countries, and at present neither Russia nor Ukraine have expressed any intention to sail their warships through the Turkish straits to the Black Sea. Turkey at the time also warned non-Black Sea countries not to send warships through the straits.
Under the Montreux Convention, warships of non-belligerent parties can pass through the straits in time of war, but Turkey has the final say if it considers there is a threat.
The presidency said Turkey was implementing the Montreux Convention impartially to prevent the situation in the Black Sea from escalating, according to Reuters.
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