Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey controls the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits, which connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, and can block the passage of warships during wars or if threatened.
Earlier on Sunday, Turkey described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “war” in a shift in rhetoric that could pave the way for the move.
On Saturday, a Turkish official said that Ankara had not taken a decision to prevent the passage of Russian warships to the Black Sea, through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, despite the Ukrainian president’s assertion of this.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated that Turkey had agreed to prevent the passage of Russian warships to the Black Sea, through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, but Ankara did not confirm this.
Turkey, which controls the two straits connecting the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, has not announced any ban on Russian warships using them, but it may be in the process of issuing such a decision.