Turkey says it will block warships from Black Sea straits

Turkey says it is blocking warships from the key Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in line with a convention that gives it control over the passage of military vessels in the strategic area.

“We have alerted both countries of the region and elsewhere not to pass warships through the Black Sea,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says. “We are applying the Montreux Convention.”

The straits connect the Mediterranean, where Russia has a large naval base, to the Black Sea, where a battle is raging for the control of Ukraine’s ports.

The 1936 Montreux Convention gives Turkey some control over the movement of warships in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits that connect the Aegean, Marmara, and Black Sea.

Times of Israel staff contributed.