Turkey Will Not Grant NATO Waivers to Montreux Convention, Says Expert

ISTANBUL, August 12. /TASS/. Turkey will not make concessions regarding the Montreux Convention and will not allow military ships into the Black Sea amid the Ukraine conflict, Turkish expert on international relations Canan Tercan told TASS.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party, earlier reported that several NATO allies had approached Ankara seeking possible waivers to the convention. However, he added that Turkey remains firmly committed to complying with the treaty.

"Despite increasing international pressure, it is unrealistic to expect Turkey to make concessions regarding the Montreux Convention and open the Black Sea for military vessels. For Turkey, the convention is not just a regulation of maritime traffic through the [Bosporus and Dardanelles] straits, but an essential framework for maintaining security and strategic balance in the region," the expert heading the IAU Politics Academy at Istanbul’s Aydin University said. She recalled that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has repeatedly and clearly stated its position on adhering to the convention. "Reviewing the principle of regional responsibility and the Montreux Convention is out of the question," Tercan emphasized, while commenting on today’s situation.

She said that withdrawing from the convention is legally possible, but quite unlikely. "The convention provides a firm mechanism for making amendments to it or denunciating it. But in practice, it is highly unlikely, as it requires negotiations between the sides and international consensus. This decision cannot be taken unilaterally, as the convention, being an international agreement, is binding for all its signatories. Even Articles 20 and 21 of the document, which provide for Turkey’s exclusive rights to control the passage of military vessels through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits if it is at war or feels directly threatened by a war, do not give the country the right to change or withdraw from the convention unilaterally at its discretion," the expert said.

The Montreux Convention was signed in 1936 in Switzerland by representatives of ten states (Australia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, Romania, the Soviet Union, Turkey, France, Yugoslavia, Japan). It guarantees freedom of commercial shipping in the straits in peacetime. Article 19 stipulates that if Turkey does not participate in a war, the straits are closed for warships of parties to the conflict or landlocked countries. Turkey has enforced this article since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine.

According to the convention, all of the signatories may propose amendments to the document. A unanimous approval of all signatories is needed for amending key military articles, while a three-quarters majority, including Turkey, is required for less significant articles. However, analysts note that changing the convention would primarily be detrimental to Turkey itself, as under the Montreux Convention, it controls navigation in the straits.