Turkey says it cannot stop returning Russian warships from accessing Black Sea

[Abdul Rehman Majeed]

Turkey says it cannot stop returning Russian warships from accessing Black Sea​

Fri, February 25, 2022, 5:28 AM

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.

Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to block Russian warships from passing through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits which lead to the Black Sea, after Moscow on Thursday launched a full-blown assault on Ukraine from land, air and sea.

Russian forces landed at Ukraine's Black and Azov Sea ports as part of the invasion.

Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the straits and can limit the passage of warships during wartime or if threatened, but the request has put the NATO member in a difficult position as it tries to manage its Western commitments and close ties with Russia.

Speaking in Kazakhstan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey was studying Kyiv's request but said Russia had the right under the Convention to return ships to their home base, in this case the Black Sea.

So even if Turkey decided after a legal process to accept Ukraine's request and close the straits to Russian warships, he said, they would only be prevented from travelling in the other direction, away from their home base into the Mediterranean.

"If countries involved in the war make a request to return their vessels to their bases, that needs to be allowed," the Hurriyet daily quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

TURKEY'S BALANCING ACT

Cavusoglu added that Turkish legal experts were still trying to determine whether the conflict in Ukraine could be defined as a war, which would allow the convention mandates to be invoked.

Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said on Friday Kyiv was expecting a "positive response" from Ankara to its request.

Cavusoglu also reiterated Ankara's opposition to imposing economic sanctions against Russia, a stance that has set Turkey apart from most of its NATO allies which have already announced such measures.

President Tayyip Erdogan later said that reaction from NATO and Western countries to Russia's assault had not been decisive, adding he hoped a virtual NATO summit on Friday would lead to a more determined approach from the alliance.

Turkey has cultivated good ties with both Russia and Ukraine. It has said the Russian attack is unacceptable and that it supports Ukraine's territorial integrity but has avoided using words such as "invasion" to describe what is happening.

Ankara has pursued cooperation with Moscow on defence and energy but has also sold drones to Ukraine and inked a deal to co-produce more. It also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Catherine Evans)

Turkey says it cannot stop returning Russian warships from accessing Black Sea

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday. Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to...

news.yahoo.com

 

[khansaheeb]

Turkey says it cannot stop returning Russian warships from accessing Black Sea​

Fri, February 25, 2022, 5:28 AM

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.

Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to block Russian warships from passing through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits which lead to the Black Sea, after Moscow on Thursday launched a full-blown assault on Ukraine from land, air and sea.

Russian forces landed at Ukraine's Black and Azov Sea ports as part of the invasion.

Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the straits and can limit the passage of warships during wartime or if threatened, but the request has put the NATO member in a difficult position as it tries to manage its Western commitments and close ties with Russia.

Speaking in Kazakhstan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey was studying Kyiv's request but said Russia had the right under the Convention to return ships to their home base, in this case the Black Sea.

So even if Turkey decided after a legal process to accept Ukraine's request and close the straits to Russian warships, he said, they would only be prevented from travelling in the other direction, away from their home base into the Mediterranean.

"If countries involved in the war make a request to return their vessels to their bases, that needs to be allowed," the Hurriyet daily quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

TURKEY'S BALANCING ACT

Cavusoglu added that Turkish legal experts were still trying to determine whether the conflict in Ukraine could be defined as a war, which would allow the convention mandates to be invoked.

Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said on Friday Kyiv was expecting a "positive response" from Ankara to its request.

Cavusoglu also reiterated Ankara's opposition to imposing economic sanctions against Russia, a stance that has set Turkey apart from most of its NATO allies which have already announced such measures.

President Tayyip Erdogan later said that reaction from NATO and Western countries to Russia's assault had not been decisive, adding he hoped a virtual NATO summit on Friday would lead to a more determined approach from the alliance.

Turkey has cultivated good ties with both Russia and Ukraine. It has said the Russian attack is unacceptable and that it supports Ukraine's territorial integrity but has avoided using words such as "invasion" to describe what is happening.

Ankara has pursued cooperation with Moscow on defence and energy but has also sold drones to Ukraine and inked a deal to co-produce more. It also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Catherine Evans)

Turkey says it cannot stop returning Russian warships from accessing Black Sea

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday. Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to...

news.yahoo.com

Turkey should demand that there be an arms embargo on all sides , just like the West did with Bosnia.

 

[dBSPL]

The relevant articles of the Montreux Convention and the Istanbul Straits Convention are quite clear. There is nothing Turkey can do except comply with the terms of these agreements.

I see that some western journalists are trying to set the agenda on this issue.

Then we have to ask why the west, which calls on Turkey to intervene in the war, why cannot even approach that Ukrainian airspace right now?

Germany started to aid of 5000 helmets. But even these 5,000 helmets will be delivered on Polish soil. Ukraine will receive these aids outside its territory.

Until 2021, Germany has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military industrial supplies to Russia annually. Russian army advancing in Ukraine with Italian origin armored 4x4 vehicles (Rys/IVECO LMV), under ISR support of Israeli origin drones (Searcher/Forpost) ... Even the Russian army has more western systems than Ukraine.

There was a coup attempt in our country that you supported. You still protect those responsible terrorists in your own lands. You tried to establish a terror state in the south of our country, you tried to destroy our economy when we intervened. Currently, you continue to impose an embargo on our country on more than 2000 materials. You didn't deliver our jets. You disregarded our national interests and cooperated with Russia in Libya, Syria.

What has changed now? What changed? I'm simply asking?

Let go of the hypocrisy. It is precisely this hypocrisy that threw 40 million Ukrainians to fire today.

 

[khansaheeb]

The relevant articles of the Montreux Convention and the Istanbul Straits Convention are quite clear. There is nothing Turkey can do except comply with the terms of these agreements.

I see that some western journalists are trying to set the agenda on this issue.

Then we have to ask why the west, which calls on Turkey to intervene in the war, why cannot even approach that Ukrainian airspace right now?

Germany started to aid of 5000 helmets. But even these 5,000 helmets will be delivered on Polish soil. Ukraine will receive these aids outside its territory.

There was a coup attempt in our country that you supported. You still protect those responsible terrorists in your own lands. You tried to establish a terror state in the south of our country, you tried to destroy our economy when we intervened. Currently, you continue to impose an embargo on our country on more than 2000 materials. You didn't deliver our jets. You disregarded our national interests and cooperated with Russia in Libya, Syria.

What has changed now? What changed? I'm simply asking?

Let go of the hypocrisy. It is precisely this hypocrisy that threw 40 million Ukrainians to fire today.

No Turkish delights for the West it seems. One option for Turkey is to close the strait for ships except Russian and let the show begin. It will be roast Turkey before Christmas!

 

[F-6 enthusiast]

The relevant articles of the Montreux Convention and the Istanbul Straits Convention are quite clear. There is nothing Turkey can do except comply with the terms of these agreements.

I see that some western journalists are trying to set the agenda on this issue.

Then we have to ask why the west, which calls on Turkey to intervene in the war, why cannot even approach that Ukrainian airspace right now?

Germany started to aid of 5000 helmets. But even these 5,000 helmets will be delivered on Polish soil. Ukraine will receive these aids outside its territory.

There was a coup attempt in our country that you supported. You still protect those responsible terrorists in your own lands. You tried to establish a terror state in the south of our country, you tried to destroy our economy when we intervened. Currently, you continue to impose an embargo on our country on more than 2000 materials. You didn't deliver our jets. You disregarded our national interests and cooperated with Russia in Libya, Syria.

What has changed now? What changed? I'm simply asking?

Let go of the hypocrisy. It is precisely this hypocrisy that threw 40 million Ukrainians to fire today.

''Allies'' of Ukraine like Germany, France are just going to sit there and watch ?
what about some clandestine supply of equipment to the Ukrainians like the Polish ? they need all the help they can get.

 

[Foinikas]

Turkey did not cause the riots in 2014 that made the Russians and the Pro-Russians rise up. Greeks don't want to go to war against Russia.

The Americans should leave us alone. We should both be neutral to this war. And neither one pushing Turkey to close the straits.

If the Americans and British want to go to war with Russia so much,let them do it on their own.

But of course if Turkey closes the Straits,the Russians will become enemies.
If the Turkey doesn't close the Straits,the Americans will get angry.

In the end,one or the other might try to take over the area.

 

[Tshering22]

Turkey did not cause the riots in 2014 that made the Russians and the Pro-Russians rise up. Greeks don't want to go to war against Russia.

The Americans should leave us alone. We should both be neutral to this war. And neither one pushing Turkey to close the straits.

If the Americans and British want to go to war with Russia so much,let them do it on their own.

But of course if Turkey closes the Straits,the Russians will become enemies.
If the Turkey doesn't close the Straits,the Americans will get angry.

In the end,one or the other might try to take over the area.

But can you and Turkey be neutral while being in NATO? I mean you guys are literally in the American camp. True, you do not have any gripe with Russia. But how long can you stall the Americans being a NATO member?

Here questions are being raised about us despite sitting thousands of KM away in Asia. And we are not a member of any military alliance of any sorts; just postive partnership on trade and defence exchange with Western countries.

Biden will demand you guys to get involved eventually.

 

[Foinikas]

But can you and Turkey be neutral while being in NATO? I mean you guys are literally in the American camp. True, you do not have any gripe with Russia. But how long can you stall the Americans being a NATO member?

Here questions are being raised about us despite sitting thousands of KM away in Asia. And we are not a member of any military alliance of any sorts; just postive partnership on trade and defence exchange with Western countries.

Biden will demand you guys to get involved eventually.

Here's the thing:

Our government wants to prove its loyalty to the Europeans to gain support against Turkey and Erdoğan wants to prove he is a good ally of the Americans to get deals and help Ukraine because of the investments there.

 

[khansaheeb]

But can you and Turkey be neutral while being in NATO? I mean you guys are literally in the American camp. True, you do not have any gripe with Russia. But how long can you stall the Americans being a NATO member?

Here questions are being raised about us despite sitting thousands of KM away in Asia. And we are not a member of any military alliance of any sorts; just postive partnership on trade and defence exchange with Western countries.

Biden will demand you guys to get involved eventually.

The NATO member countries better have some helmets ready for the Ukrainians.

 

[Tshering22]

Here's the thing:

Our government wants to prove its loyalty to the Europeans to gain support against Turkey and Erdoğan wants to prove he is a good ally of the Americans to get deals and help Ukraine because of the investments there.

Oh the complications...! And I thought we were struggling here to defend our neutral position.

This better become a meme.

 

[Last starfighter]

Just lip service, the amount of Russian money in the UK government is mind-blowing. And now BP oil. I worked for Shell Oil in West Africa for a number of years on Russian contracts.

 

[Foinikas]

Oh the complications...! And I thought we were struggling here to defend our neutral position.

This better become a meme.

The people want to be neutral,the governments want to show they are good allies...

 

[Abdul Rehman Majeed]

But can you and Turkey be neutral while being in NATO? I mean you guys are literally in the American camp. True, you do not have any gripe with Russia. But how long can you stall the Americans being a NATO member?

Here questions are being raised about us despite sitting thousands of KM away in Asia. And we are not a member of any military alliance of any sorts; just postive partnership on trade and defence exchange with Western countries.

Biden will demand you guys to get involved eventually.

Why not?

India is acting neutral while opening supporting US, NATO and Ukraine.

 

[khansaheeb]

Why not?

India is acting neutral while opening supporting US, NATO and Ukraine.

Don't think uncle Sam and NATO will be happy , the Indians did the same thing in Afghanistan and were cool about fighting with the US against Iran. What a treacherous lot the Indians are.

 

[Tshering22]

Why not?

India is acting neutral while opening supporting US, NATO and Ukraine.

We ARE neutral. Ukraine is not our enemy remember? Never understood where some of you guys always think that we jump bandwagons.

Turkey is a part of NATO; a committed alliance that stands with the US as Allies. Same for Greece. India is NOT a part of NATO.

See the difference?

Don't think uncle Sam and NATO will be happy , the Indians did the same thing in Afghanistan and were cool about fighting with the US against Iran. What a treacherous lot the Indians are.

Big words coming from you mate. I don't see you sticking to allies either in the last 7 decades, changing sides from Iranians, to Arabs to Turks in regional geopolitics then from US to China in the last 10 decades.