Ankara, 2 March 2022 (TDI): Defense Minister of Turkey namely Hulusi Akar said that Turkey urges all involved parties in the Ukraine crisis to honor an accord on the passage via the Turkish straits to the Black Sea after Ankara has closed the access.
Turkey is a NATO partner and borders with Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea and maintains friendly relations with both. Ankara has the power, under the 1936 Montreux Convention, to restrict transportation across the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits during wartime.
This enables it to prevent Russian warships from entering the Black Sea. The deal exempts ships returning to their home ports. Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey has asked that all Black Sea and non-Black Sea governments stop passing via its straits.
While Hulusi Akar told in the Cabinet meeting that eroding Montreux or disturbing the status quo in any manner is absurd and benefits no one. There is an advantage for all in keeping Montreux.
In this regard, Turkey has already informed all parties adhering to Montreux is holistically in their best interest. Spokesperson for US State Department, Ned Price told that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed his gratitude and thanks to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for Turkey’s implementation of the accord.
In common parlance, it has been surmised that whether maritime traffic is closed to all but Ankara may be imparting a breathing room to Russia to determine its position, because 4 Russian ships are about to traverse the Mediterranean.
Contrary to this narrative, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Ankara, Vasyl Bodnar has appreciated Turkey’s stance and told that Kyiv is grateful to Turkey for meticulously executing the accord.
Further, he expressed his personal thoughts that in the contemporary scenario it was a very fair decision that needs to be adopted. According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar further has asked his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu for an urgent ceasefire on humanitarian grounds.
By considering Russia’s invasion as a violation of international law, Turkey has carefully crafted its stance so as not to alienate Moscow, with which it has close energy, defense, and tourism relations. Turkey has emphasized dialogues and voluntarily offered to host peaceful negotiations.