US thanks Turkey for shutting down Black Sea straits for warships – EURACTIV.com

Turkey is calling on all sides in the Ukraine crisis to respect an international pact on passage through the Turkish straits to the Black Sea, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was cited as saying on Tuesday (1 March) after Ankara closed access.

NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Ankara has the right to limit transit through its Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits during wartime.

This allows it to curb Russian warships going to the Black Sea. The pact grants exemption to ships returning to their home bases.

In a call on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “expressed his appreciation” to Çavuşoğlu for Turkey’s implementation of the accord, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.