During the conflict, the Montreal Convention of 1936 enables Turkey to cut off any vessel transiting between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
On Thursday morning, shortly after Russia initiated air and ground attacks on Ukraine, Kyiv sent an official request to Ankara to restrict the Turkish straits to Russian ships.
"We demand that the airspace be closed, as well as the Bosporus [Istanbul] and Dardanelles Straits." We have sent our pertinent request to the Turkish side. At the same time, we want sanctions placed on Russia," Vastly Bodnar, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, stated at a press conference in Ankara.
Turkey has stated that it does not want the situation to escalate further and has asked Russia to cease all measures in Ukraine.
"Turkey has looked at all conceivable scenarios in relation to the Montreal Convention." All legal and diplomatic procedures have been completed. "We will continue to monitor developments, said Omar Celia, a spokesman for the ruling AK Party.
Ankara is keeping an eye on the economic, political, and other consequences of Russia's continuous aggression in Ukraine, he said.
The request puts Turkey, a NATO member that shares a Black Sea maritime border with Russia and Ukraine, in an unusual situation. It has strong relations with both countries and has established itself as a neutral mediator for a peaceful resolution of the situation, making it an important factor in the current conflict.
Ankara has jurisdiction of the straits under the 1936 Montreal Convention and can prevent any vessel – civilian or military – from transiting during warfare or if threatened.
More information on the convention may be found here:
Historical background
Prior to the Montreal Convention, the Turkish straits were governed by the Lausanne Convention of 1923, which set forth procedures for military ships using the straits.
When Adolf Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, he promised to pursue expansionist ambitions.
In Montreal, Switzerland, in 1936, Britain, the Soviet Union, and Turkey agreed to return control of the straits (the Bosporus, the Dardanelles, and the Sea of Marmara) to Turkey.
Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Yugoslavia, and Japan all ratified the Montreal Convention.
Turkey, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom were the three most critical positions that needed to be balanced. Turkey wanted to remilitarize the area and acquire as much control over the straits as possible; the USSR wanted free passage so that their Black Sea fleet could reach the Mediterranean, and the British wanted the USSR's influence in the Mediterranean to be limited.
BLACK SEA
The agreement was ultimately a compromise between those three factors.
What exactly are the guidelines?
The agreement assures free transit of civilian vessels via the Turkish straits unless they are from a country with which Turkey is at war, and gives Turkey the power to restrict the straits to all merchant ships if it so chooses.
There are additional limits on warships. Ankara has the authority to do everything it takes if Turkey is at war, even blocking the straits. The straits are closed for belligerent countries if other states are at war, while Turkey is neutral.
The rules are a little more complicated during peacetime. The treaty forbids aircraft carriers, although it makes no mention of ships constructed for other purposes yet capable of transporting aircraft. In this instance, depending on the state of war and peace, Ankara is the ultimate decision-maker.
Aircraft crossing the straits must also be approved by the Turkish authorities.
Submarines are likewise prohibited from passing across the Turkish Straits. However, the Black Sea states — Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and Georgia – can construct submarines outside the Black Sea and transfer them via the straits, as well as leave the Black Sea for maintenance if they give enough warning.
Foreign Minister Cavusoglu of Turkey stated that experts are attempting to determine whether there is a belligerency.
Cavusoglu stated that if Ankara thinks there is a war, it has the authority to restrict vessels, despite the fact that Türkiye is not a party to any conflict.
"Even if it is prohibited, Russians have a rite of passage. Russia changed the clause during the negotiations. They are governed by Articles 19, 20, and 21 "he stated
Non-Black Sea states are also equipped with a small naval presence. They can't, for example, conduct expeditions or have ships larger than 10,000 tonnes pass through. Ships from non-Black Sea countries are limited to a total weight of 30,000 tonnes at any given time and are only allowed to stay in the region for 21 days.
Warships from the Black Sea states that are greater than 15,000 tonnes can transit through the Straits alone, accompanied by no more than two destroyers, with advance notification.
Non-Black Sea countries must provide Ankara with 15 days' notice for passage, but Black Sea countries must offer Ankara only 8 days' notice.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted in 1994, has generated requests for the Montreal Convention to be revised. Due to Turkey's refusal to sign the UN convention because of a long-standing conflict with Greece, the Montreal pact has remained in force.
Since tensions over Ukraine have risen, Turkish officials have asserted that Montreal is critical to the region's peace.
There has been no indication of what Turkey's stance would be if Russia and Ukraine went to war.
So far, President RCEP Tayyip Erdoğan has stated that if Russia invades, Turkey will act in unison with its NATO allies.
Erdoğan described Russian President Vladimir Putin's acknowledgment of separatist territories in Ukraine as "unacceptable" and a clear infringement of Ukraine's sovereignty on Tuesday.
Following today's Russian attack on Ukraine, Turkish President RCEP Taycan Erdoğan tweeted that "Turkey supports Ukraine's effort to maintain its territorial integrity" and that he "regretted" the two countries with which Ankara has a deep relationship had "come face to face in this way."
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