Turkey: No warships will pass through the straits
In line with their commitment to the Montreux Convention, Ankara has not issued any permit to pass through the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits since February 2022
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The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni sails after being inspected by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials at the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022 (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
On Monday, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that Ankara has not issued a single permit for the passage of warships through the straits of Dardanelles and the Bosporus since February 2022 as required by the Montreux convention.
"Turkey strictly observes the Montreux Convention. In accordance with it, we have not issued a single permit for the passage of warships through the Turkish straits," Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara.
The Montreux Convention, which was enacted in 1936, gave Turkey the authority to block the passage of all warships from the straits during times of war while allowing commerce ships unrestricted access.
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Map of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits
In response to the start of the crisis in Ukraine, the Turkish government declared strict adherence to the Convention on February 25, 2022, and closed the straits to military vessels.
Last year, Ukraine's Ambassador in Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, demanded Ankara on behalf of Kiev to close the straits for Russian ships.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu replied by saying his country might close the Bosporus and Dardanelles for the passage of Russian warships, but Moscow would still have the right to return its fleet to base.
