The move comes after Ukraine asked Turkey to prevent the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Turkey has banned warships from crossing the key Bosphorus and Dardanelles in an attempt to de-escalate the crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move came Monday after Kyiv asked Ankara to activate a 90-year-old international pact and prevent Russian warships from transiting the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles connect the Aegean, Marmara and Black Seas, the last of which Russia invaded the southern coast of Ukraine.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Ankara has activated the Montreux Convention and warned both Black Sea and non-Black Sea countries not to allow warships through Turkish waterways.
The 1936 pact gave Turkey the right to ban warships from using the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus during war.
“We have warned both countries in the region and elsewhere not to allow warships to cross the Black Sea,” Cavusoglu said. “We are implementing the Montreux Convention.
It is unclear to what extent Turkey’s decision to close the straits will affect the conflict. At least six Russian warships and a submarine crossed the Turkish Straits this month.
Cavusoglu’s statement came shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would use “the powers given to our country by the Montreux Convention on maritime traffic in the straits in a way that will prevent the crisis from escalating.”
He reiterated that Turkey will not give up its relations with either Russia or Ukraine.
“We will not compromise our national interests, but we will not neglect regional and global balances. We say that we will not give up either Ukraine or Russia.
A NATO member, Turkey has tried to balance its Western commitments, as well as its close ties with Moscow, and until Sunday did not describe the situation in Ukraine as a war.
Erdogan said on Monday that he considered “Russia’s attack on Ukrainian territory unacceptable” and called for bona fide talks on all sides.
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