Turkey blocks Bosphorus and Dardanelles for all warships

Turkey controls two strategically important straits – the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Warships are no longer allowed to pass there.

A delicate decision for President Erdogan – the Ukraine crisis has gotten him into a diplomatic dilemma.

Against the background of the Ukraine war, Turkey has banned the passage of warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. Ankara had “warned neighboring countries not to send warships through the Black Sea,” said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday evening. Turkey had sharply condemned Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine last week.

In his statement, Cavusoglu referred to the 1936 Treaty of Montreux, which regulates the passage of ships through the Turkish Straits. “We apply the provisions of the Montreux Convention,” emphasized Cavusoglu.

Turkey, Russia and Ukraine are countries bordering the Black Sea. The Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits connect the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Aegean Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clearly sided with Kiev after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We reject Russia’s military action,” Erdogan said last week. The invasion was a “devastating blow to peace and stability in the region.”

NATO member Turkey has repeatedly emphasized its close ties with Ukraine in recent years. Erdogan sharply denounced the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, also because of the historical presence of ethnic Turkish Tatars on the peninsula. Turkey drew Moscow’s ire by selling combat drones to Ukraine.

At the same time, Erdogan is said to have a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite different positions, including on the Syrian conflict, Ankara and Moscow have strengthened their trade and defense relations in recent years. Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system caused dissatisfaction among NATO partners.