Turkey blocks warships
Turkey is calling on all sides in the Ukraine crisis to respect an international pact on passage through the Turkish straits to the Black Sea, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was cited as saying yesterday after Ankara closed access.
Nato ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Ankara has the right to limit transit through its straits during wartime.
This allows it to curb Russian warships going to the Black Sea. At least four Russian ships are waiting to cross from the Mediterranean.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey had demanded all Black Sea and non-Black Sea states to halt passage through its straits.
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