Turkish authorities said on Tuesday they would not allow two minehunters donated to Ukraine by Britain to pass through its waters on their way to the Black Sea because it would violate an international pact on wartime passage through straits.
Last month, Britain warned of its intention to hand over two Royal Navy minehunters to the Ukrainian Navy.
NATO member Turkey has told allies that it will not allow ships to use its Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits while the war in Ukraine continues, the presidential communications office said. It wrote on social media platform X:
Our pertinent allies have been duly apprised that the mine-hunting ships donated to Ukraine by the United Kingdom will not be allowed to pass through the Turkish Straits to the Black Sea as long as the war continues.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Turkey has invoked the 1936 Montreux Convention, effectively blocking the passage of warships of belligerent parties.
According to the Montreux Convention, warships of non-belligerents can pass through the straits in times of war. But the convention also says Ankara has the final say on the passage of all warships if Turkey believes it is in danger of being drawn into a war.
Earlier, Turkey also warned non-Black Sea states not to send warships through the straits.
Turkey is impartially and scrupulously implementing the Montreux Convention to prevent escalation in the Black Sea, the president said.
