Russia expects that all countries will responsibly implement the provisions of the Montreux Convention on the status of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday that Turkey has a special role to play in this.
"We see no alternatives to the international legal regime established by the Montreux Convention. We expect that all relevant states will responsibly comply with it. And, of course, Turkey has a special role to play in this," she said.
According to Zakharova, any attempts to revise the Montreux Convention would affect Russia's interests. "We consider this convention as a major factor of stability and security in the Black Sea, especially with regard to military navigation," the diplomat stressed.
The 1936 Montreux Convention restored Turkish sovereignty over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, it was adopted at a conference on the regime of the Black Sea straits, held June 22-21, 1939, in Montreux, Switzerland. The Convention preserves freedom of passage through the straits only for merchant ships. At the same time, the regime of passage is different for warships of the Black Sea and non-Black Sea states. Thus, subject to prior notification to the authorities of Turkey, the Black Sea powers can conduct their warships of any class through the straits in peacetime. For warships of non-Black Sea powers there are significant restrictions on the class and tonnage.
The Admirals Letter Scandal
Over the weekend, more than 100 retired Turkish admirals signed a letter stating that they "follow with concern the discussions about the creation of the Istanbul Canal (parrallel to the Bosphorus, in the western part of Istanbul province) and the Montreux Convention in the context of the abrogation of international treaties." They called to stop any discussion of the possibility of the country's withdrawal from the Montreux Convention. The military also pointed out in their letter that the current Turkish Constitution needed to be preserved amid President Tayyip Erdogan's initiative to draft a new constitution.
The position of the former admirals drew harsh criticism from a number of high-ranking politicians and the country's presidential administration. At least 10 signed admirals were detained as part of an inspection initiated by the capital's general prosecutor's office. Erdogan later said that Turkey was not going to revise the Montreux Convention and remained committed to it.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS
Based on materials from TASS