Turkey sent a notice to the parties to the Montreux Convention on the passage of US warships from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea and in the opposite direction, the Russian embassy in Turkey told TASS on Friday.
"Turkey, in accordance with the convention, sent notification to its parties about the passage of warships from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea and in the opposite direction," the agency's spokesman said.
The 1936 Montreux Convention, to which Russia is also a party, restored Turkish sovereignty over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, it was adopted at the conference on the Black Sea straits, held June 22 - July 21, 1936, in Montreux (Switzerland).
Earlier on Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry source told TASS that two US warships would pass through the Bosporus Strait on April 14 and 15 and would be there until May 4 and 5.
CNN reported Thursday, citing a US Defense Department source, that the US is considering sending warships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to demonstrate its support for Ukraine. According to the US source, the US Navy regularly sends its fleet there as it is, but such a move at the moment would send a "special message" to Russia. He also said that the US government was preparing to take such measures because of the allegations of the Russian military buildup near Ukraine's borders.
Meanwhile, the US Defense Department did not confirm to TASS the information that Washington was considering sending ships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to demonstrate its support for Ukraine.
Aggravation in Donbass
Western countries have repeatedly expressed concern in recent days over remarks by the Ukrainian military about a build-up of Russian forces along the border with Ukraine. Earlier, Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the movement of Russian troops through Russian territory should not worry other countries, as it does not threaten them in any way. He also stressed that what is happening in Donbas is an internal Ukrainian conflict in which Russian troops have never participated.
The situation in Donbas deteriorated at the end of February, and shootings, including those involving mortars and grenade launchers, were recorded in the region almost every day. The parties blamed each other for the aggravation of the situation. On March 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among other things, he expressed concern over Kiev's destabilization of the situation in Donbas.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS