Turkey proposes to close the Black Sea for US ships

Turkey needs to denounce the Montreux Convention and close the Black Sea to US ships. Retired colonel of the Republican Navy Khalil Ozsarach stated this in an interview with the Aydinlik newspaper.

After the drone crashed into the sea, information appeared in the media that Washington wants to send a warship to the crash zone, but the issue is regulated by the convention. The Turkish Ministry of Defense noted that they are discussing with the United States the issue of resolving the situation. Commenting on the situation with the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, Ozsarac called on Ankara to “use its trump card and unilaterally terminate the Montreux Convention.”

“We must threaten the United States with the cancellation of the agreement and the exclusion of any ships that do not belong to this region of countries into the Black Sea in peacetime. And also remove all restrictions for Russian ships,” Ozsarach noted.

Ozsarach believes that pressure exerted on Ankara by Washington should be seen as a security threat in the Black Sea.

“We can liquidate the convention on the basis of such a provocation and close the Black Sea to US ships after the end of the two-year period of denunciation of the treaty,” – said the military.

After that, he believes, a regime should be established for the passage of ships through the straits, based on bilateral relations with friendly countries, “for example, with Russia and China.”

Retired Turkish Navy Rear Admiral Deniz Kutluk, in turn, noted that the United States is preparing a bill to increase its military presence in the Black Sea, which will deter Russia and China and increase pressure on Turkey.

Earlier, Cumhuriyet stated that the United States is seeking to turn the Black Sea into a NATO “lake”.

The Montreux Convention adopted in 1936 is now a guarantee that the Black Sea belongs exclusively to the countries of its basin, and US ships cannot freely enter the water area.

The incident with the American MQ-9 Reaper drone that fell into the Black Sea became known on March 14. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the US drone was flying with transponders turned off, violating the borders of the area of ​​the temporary regime for the use of airspace, which was established for the purpose of conducting a special operation.

Russian fighter jets took to the skies to identify the intruder. The drone went into uncontrolled flight, lost altitude and crashed into the sea.

The Pentagon tried to justify the fall of the drone, which ended up near the Russian borders, stating that the device allegedly fell after the fighter “hit the propeller of the MQ-9”, and before that – “spilled fuel.”

Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that Russia would try to get fragments of the American apparatus, noting that the incident showed the direct participation of the United States in the hostilities in Ukraine.