Turkey will reject NATO requests for waivers on the Montreux Convention, refusing to open the Black Sea to military vessels amid the Ukraine conflict, according to Turkish international relations expert Canan Tercan.
Recent developments in the Black Sea and Persian Gulf highlight the rapid unravelling of the international order. Western powers are discarding old rules without establishing stable replacements, leading to increased militarization in the Black Sea and renewed confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening global trade routes.
The 1936 Montreux Convention grants Turkey sovereignty over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, making it the gatekeeper to the Black Sea. During wartime, Turkey can block warships from belligerent nations, a clause invoked in 2022 to restrict Russia's naval reinforcement and shape the Ukraine conflict's maritime dynamics.
