Ankara - Turkey said today that it will not allow two mine-hunting and mine-destroying ships that Britain provided to Ukraine some time ago to cross the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles into the Black Sea. It justified this on the grounds that it would violate an international pact on navigation through these straits in times of war, Reuters reports.
The British Ministry of Defence said in December that it would hand over two minesweepers to Ukraine, which is facing Russian aggression, to support it in its efforts to improve the security situation in the Black Sea. But the communications department of the Turkish presidential office said today that Ankara had informed allies that it would not give permission for these vessels to sail through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles for the duration of the war in Ukraine.
"As long as the war continues, we will not allow military vessels to enter the Black Sea through the Turkish straits," the Turkish presidential office said.
Reuters recalls that after the start of the invasion of Ukraine less than two years ago, Turkey, a NATO member state, activated the 1936 Montreux Convention, which establishes and regulates the regime for the passage of warships through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. It has thus blocked this route for military ships. The only exception is for vessels returning to their home bases.
Ankara says it is applying the convention impartially and carefully in an effort to prevent an escalation of the conflict in the Black Sea.
Turkey maintains relations with both Ukraine and Russia in the conflict.
CTK/RoZ_07
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