How could a 1936 treaty compel Turkey to take sides in the Ukraine...

3^min

Turkey has officially declared Russia's invasion of Ukraine a war and says it will bar some warships from passing through key waterways, a move that experts say could stymie some of Moscow's military operations in the region.

Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, appeared on local television last week and urged Ankara's government to close its key straits to Russian warships in accordance with the 1936 Montreux Convention. Turkey said it could only do so if it officially recognized the conflict as a war, which it did on Sunday.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that his country would "use the authority granted to our country by the Montreux Convention on ship traffic in the straits in a way that will prevent the crisis from escalating."

While Erdogan called Russia's attack on Ukraine "unacceptable," he also stated that Turkey would not cut ties with either Russia or Ukraine.

Here's what you should know.

What precisely is the Montreux Convention?

The convention gives Turkey certain control over the passage of warships from the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits that connect the Aegean, Marmara, and Black Sea.

Warships can pass through the straits during peacetime with prior diplomatic notification, subject to certain restrictions on the weight of the ships and the arms they carry – and depending on whether the ship belongs to a Black Sea nation or not. In times of war, Turkey has the authority to prevent belligerent parties' warships from crossing.

According to the convention, if Turkey is a party to the war or believes it is in imminent danger, it has the authority to close the straits to warships.

What impact does this have on Russia?

Russia and Ukraine, as well as Romania and NATO members Bulgaria and Georgia, are all located on the Black Sea. Under the Montreux Convention, Turkey can limit Russian warships' transit from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea through its straits, but the pact has a caveat: belligerent states' warships can cross if they are returning to their base of origin.

How could a 1936 treaty compel Turkey to take sides in the Ukraine war?

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