Uses treaty since 1936 to prevent warships – VG

Turkey must feel directly threatened by war in order to be allowed to close the warship under the agreement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey was warning against warships passing through Phosphorus and Tortanelles.

“We have warned both countries in the region and other countries not to send naval vessels across the sea to the Black Sea,” Cavusoglu said. In a statement on Monday night.

Turkish Foreign Minister mentions The Montrooks Treaty of 1936This gives Turkey partial control of the strait and the refusal of other countries’ warships to pass through them.

He says the deal will be used “for everything worth it”.

It is not clear whether the current situation meets the requirements for granting Turkey the right to close the strait, Ingrid Handeland believes.

He is a lawyer and researcher in the Naval Force and Naval Command Division at FHS / Naval War College.

There is only one article in the treaty that allows Turkey to close warships to warships, but says that without them being a party to the conflict, there is a limit to its use:

– When Turkey announced that they were closing the strait, I consider with some degree of uncertainty that they were using Section 21, he adds:

If so, they feel most threatened by the immediate danger of war, believing they have the right to close the strait.

The agreement basically allows all warships to return to their home base, meaning that Russian warships based on the Black Sea will still be allowed to pass.

– At the same time, it says that Turkey can refuse to send warships if the warships belong to a state that feels threatened by Turkey. This also applies to returning to the home base, he explains.

A “curved” conference

Tortanelles is the narrow strait that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of ​​Marmara, while the Phosphorus Strait via Istanbul is the strait between the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Black Sea.

These two straits are the only sea route out of the Black Sea.

– The Montreux Agreement has been a somewhat flexible conference since 1936, which Handeland says is somewhat challenging to explain.

An agreement was reached to restore Turkish sovereignty over the Tortonelles, and the area laid down rules for the use of straits during times of war and peace.

– The purpose of establishing the agreement was to stabilize the security policy situation because there was disagreement over who should properly control the strait.

Handeland says that a key point in the article is that Turkey should inform the Secretary-General Folkforbanded If they close the strait.

Not amended since the contract was signed, and Folkforbanded Not anymore. It was dissolved after the UN was established in 1946.

– It would be natural to take it to the UN today. The agreement states that at least a 2/3 majority in the Security Council can override Turkey’s decision to close.

Russia is a permanent member of the UN. She does not know whether the Security Council will be notified and whether Russia’s veto vote will apply in that case.

Reported a little earlier

Saturday President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zhelensky aHe was assured that the waters would be closed to Russian warships.

It was Then discarded The Russian embassy in Turkey and a Turkish official later said no final decision had been made.

The Montreux Treaty restored Turkish sovereignty over the Tortonelles and laid down some important policies for the use of the area during peace and war, including the free passage of civilian ships in peacetime. According to store Norske Leksikon.

Former Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu He said the country could not stop Russian warships Due to the law allowing warships to return to their own base using the Straits of Phosphorus and Tortonelle.