Canal Istanbul won't affect governance of straits: Turkish FM

Turkey's Kanal Istanbul mega-project will not impact proper governing of the Turkish Straits, the Turkish foreign minister told his Russian counterpart on June 30 after bilateral talks.
The planned alternate route between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea - set for completion in 2025-2026 - will have no effect on the 1936 Montreux Agreement on the Turkish Straits, nor vice versa, Turkey's Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told a joint news conference with Russia's Sergey Lavrov.
"The maximum capacity for safe passage through the Bosphorus is 25,000. But currently, this figure has exceeded 45,000. We calculated that this figure will be 80,000 by 2050. Since it's needed in all respects, we've now started to take concrete steps to implement the vision project put forward by our President (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) years ago," the Turkish minister said.
Çavuşoğlu underlined that Turkey has implemented the Montreux Agreement to the letter and has been faithful to the treaties it has signed.

Speaking to reporters in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Lavrov said: "Russia is pleased to work with our Turkish colleagues on the implementation of the Montreux Agreement."
Montreux gives Turkey control over its straits and authority to regulate the transit of naval warships.
Lavrov added that the canal's construction will not prepare the ground for foreign military deployments.
Turning to Syria, an issue Moscow and Ankara have worked on for years, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey will continue to work with Russia for peace and a political process for the war-battered country.
On Libya, Çavuşoğlu said that the North African country's political unity and territorial integrity are priorities that both Turkey and Russia agree on.
"Our aim is to ensure...