Does the Montreux Convention force Turkey to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships?

ANKARA

- Turkey is facing Ukrainian demands to prevent Russian ships from crossing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, according to statements by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar.

Under the Montreux Convention, Turkey controls the passage of ships between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, making it a key player in the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Through these questions and answers, Al Jazeera Net explains the legal aspects of the Montreux Convention, the specificity of its application in the current Russian-Ukrainian war, and the geopolitical importance of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.

What is the Montreux Convention?

What are its most important clauses?

The Montreux Convention was signed on July 20, 1936 in the Swiss city of Montreux, with the participation of countries including the Soviet Union, Turkey, Britain, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Japan and Australia.

This agreement, which consists of 29 articles, 4 annexes and a protocol, replaced the article of the Turkish straits in the Treaty of Lausanne, and as a result, traffic was regulated through the straits of Turkey, and through it Turkey regained full sovereignty over the sea straits.

The Montreux Convention allowed free passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits for merchant ships in times of peace and war, and allowed the passage of warships for the countries of the Black Sea Basin without any limitation.

Russia has repeatedly tried to change some of the terms of the agreement;

In 1945 and 1946, the Soviet Union protested the restrictions on the passage of warships and called for a revision of the agreement.

What are the most important clauses of the agreement?

• In wartime, non-belligerent merchant ships will enter with Turkey, regardless of tonnage, without any hindrance.

  But Turkey has the right to prevent the commercial ships of the warring country from entering the strait.

• If two countries are at war, Turkey will allow their merchant ships to enter, but only on the condition that they do not transport military supplies.

• Turkey can impose a certain procedure on the transit of commercial ships of other countries, if it feels that there is a security threat surrounding it.

The Bosphorus Strait is a tourist and commercial movement throughout the year (Al-Jazeera)

What is the geopolitical significance of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits?

Turkey has a unique maritime position that makes it control two of the narrowest and most important sea lanes in the world, and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits are the only exit for Russian and Ukrainian ships from the closed Black Sea.

The Black Sea is connected to the Mediterranean by the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, and the two passages are characterized by their narrowness. The length of the Dardanelles is 58 km, its minimum width is 868 meters, and its depth ranges between 50 and 90 meters.

As for the Bosphorus, it is shorter and narrower than the Dardanelles, with a length of 27 kilometers, a minimum width of 640 meters, and a depth of 70 meters.

Istanbul is located on both sides of the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Marmara.

With the Dardanelles, it is considered the southern border between the continents of Asia and Europe.

As for the Dardanelles, it is an international waterway connecting the Sea of ​​Marmara with the Aegean Sea. The strait separates the coast of Asia Minor and the Gallipoli peninsula on the European side, both of which are Turkish lands.

The length of the strait is about 61 km, its width ranges between 1.2 and 6 km, and its depth ranges between 50 and 60 meters.

The Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits are Russia's gateway to cross from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Aegean Sea, according to the Montreux Convention, and the closure of the two straits is considered a declaration of war.

A huge Italian drilling rig passes near the Bosphorus Tower (French)

In the event of the Russian-Ukrainian war, can Turkey stop the implementation of the Montreux Convention?

Is the current situation between Russia and Ukraine explained by war?

Anas Ozdil, general coordinator of the International Law Research Center at Mehmet Fatih University in Istanbul, says, "Turkey must implement the Montreux Treaty, especially Article 19, which expressly prohibits ships of warring countries from passing through the waterways," adding, "But if Turkey finds its interests with no If you decide to close, you will resort to adopting the interpretation that there is no war between the two sides, especially since Russia is talking about a military operation and not a war.”

Ozdil explained to Al Jazeera Net that there is another doctrine among international jurists in interpreting Article 19, the situation between Russia and Ukraine is a conflict in which Russia resorted to the use of force in an explicit violation of Clause IV of Article Two of the United Nations Charter, which states that "all members of the body shall refrain from in their international relations from the threat or use of force against territorial integrity or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” Turkey should therefore decide to close the straits.

The legal expert pointed out that the treaty expressly states, at the end of Article 19, that warships of the warring countries have the right to return to their ports, and therefore Turkey does not have the right to prevent Russian warships from returning to its ports in the Black Sea.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey's closure of the straits to Russia will not prevent Russian ships from crossing the straits if they wish to return to their ports of departure, as it is a riparian state in the Black Sea.

What are the consequences of Turkey’s approval or refusal to pass Russian ships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits?

Turkish jurist Özdil states that if Turkey takes a decision to close the straits to warships, it will for the first time have used the articles of the Montreux Treaty against Russia, which will be angry and may resort later to demand the abolition or modification of the treaty.

He believes that it is in Turkey's interest not to open any discussion about the treaty, as it actually creates security conditions that preserve Turkey's security and grant it rights that it will not be able to obtain later if there is a cancellation or amendment of the Montreux Convention.

If Turkey becomes a party to any war, what is its decision according to the agreement?

According to Article 20 of the treaty, if Turkey is one of the countries not involved in the war, the warships of all countries not involved in the war can pass through the strait.

And if Turkey was a party to the war, then, according to Article 21 of the treaty, it has the right to dispose of the procedures in the strait as it pleases, but without violating the charters and norms of international law related to maritime navigation.