Turkey Closes Dardanelles And Bosphorus To Warships

Turkey revealed that it had officially notified Russia of its decision to prevent Russian warships from crossing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday that his country supports Ukraine’s sovereignty over its entire united territory.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated on Monday evening that his country would block warships from “riparian and non-riparian Black Sea countries” from entering the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
Davutoglu told reporters that his country had warned all Black Sea riparian and non-riparian countries not to send warships through its straits.
He went on to say that Ankara is committed to the Montreux Convention’s provisions, which provide it the authority to control the crossing of these two straits.
In light of Russia’s military activity in Ukraine, Erdogan stated that his country is determined to using its powers under the Montreux Convention to control the movement of ships through the straits in a way that prevents the problem from escalating.
He went on to say that Ankara will continue its multifaceted diplomatic endeavors indefinitely in order to preserve peace and stability between Russia and Ukraine.
The Turkish decision came in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request that Turkey restrict the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian warships, which he reiterated last Saturday.
Ankara allows ships and warships from landlocked countries in the Black Sea to pass freely through its straits (the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits leading to the Black Sea) during peacetime, but warships from landlocked countries cannot stay in the Black Sea for more than 21 days, according to the terms of the agreement.
Russia’s military campaign began last Thursday, following weeks of tension and a Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border, and days after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his intention to recognize the rebel republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine as sovereign.