Turkey Blocks British Minehunters’ Passage to Ukraine via Bosphorus
Despite both Turkey and Britain being NATO members, Ankara asserts that the prohibition on the two British vessels sailing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to the Black Sea en route to Ukraine aligns with the principles of the Montreux Convention.
(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) –Turkey will not let two minehunter vessels donated by Britain to Ukraine to pass through its waters en route to the Black Sea in line with the Montreux Convention, which allows the country to cut off any vessel transit between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean during wartime.
Despite both Turkey and Britain being NATO members, Ankara asserts that the prohibition on the two British vessels sailing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to the Black Sea en route to Ukraine aligns with the principles of the Montreux Convention.
“Our NATO allies have been informed that Turkey will not allow the ships to use the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits as long as the conflict in Ukraine persists,” stated the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency through the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Last month, Britain announced the transfer of two of its minehunters to the Ukrainian Navy in its efforts to bolster its capabilities in dealing with the Russian Navy.
In mid-December, Britain decided to transfer two Sandown-class minehunters to Ukraine, as part of its broader initiative to assist Kiev in facing Moscow.
According to the Montreux Convention, it guarantees free passage of civilian vessels to use the Turkish straits, unless they are from a country that Turkey is engaged in war with, giving it the authority to close the straits to all merchant ships if it chooses.
With warships, there are more restrictions.
If Turkey is at war, Ankara has the right to do whatever is necessary, including closing the straits. If other states are at war and Turkey is neutral, the straits are closed for those belligerent countries.
In peacetime, the rules are a bit more complicated.
The convention does not allow aircraft carriers, but it does not mention ships that are designed for other purposes but can also carry aircraft.
In this case, Ankara is the ultimate decision maker depending on war and peace time.
The Directorate emphasized that Turkey has selectively and meticulously implemented the Montreux Convention to prevent any conflicts in the Black Sea.
Turkey continues to maintain positive relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
When Russia initiated hostilities against Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey invoked the Montreux Convention to impede the passage of warships belonging to belligerent parties.
However, since the outbreak of the conflict, there have been no indications from either Russia or Ukraine about their intentions to send warships into the Black Sea for deployment from their respective bases. — DSA
