Turkey has stated that it will implement the Montreux Convention in the Black Sea in order to prevent the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict from escalating further."We have decided to use the authority granted to our country by the Montreux Convention to prevent the crisis from escalating," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference following a cabinet meeting Monday.
The Montreux Convention, signed in 1936, requires non-riparian countries' naval vessels to notify Turkey in advance of their passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, which connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The agreement prohibits ships from non-riparian countries from remaining in the Black Sea for more than 21 days, but it allows Turkey to prohibit military vessels from transiting the straits during wartime, with the exception of those returning to their bases.
Erdogan stated that Ankara has fulfilled its responsibilities in international organizations, particularly the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the European Union, and that it will continue to do so in the future. He emphasized that Turkey would not abandon its regional national interests. As a result, Ankara could not cut ties with Russia or Ukraine.
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