Ukraine Asks Erdogan to Close Turkish Straits to Russia

A tanker ship passes through the Bosporus at Istanbul. Photo: Pixabay/Murat Soyluoglu

"We are calling for the air space, Bosporus and the Dardanelles straits to be closed. We have conveyed our demand to the Turkish side. At the same time, we want sanctions imposed on the Russian side," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said in Ankara.

At the same press conference, Bodnar also asked the Turkish government to impose sanctions on Russia.

The Turkish government so far has been cautious, unsurprisingly, given Ankara's hitherto cordial relations with Moscow.

"We cannot give up on both countries [Ukraine and Russia]," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, underlying the country's economic, political and military ties with both sides.

Erdogan also urged NATO, to which Turkey belongs, to determine its stance as soon as possible and criticized Western diplomacy for achieving little in talks with Moscow.

Erdogan convened his Security Council on Thursday and was expected to speak to the media later on Thursday.

Turkey's position on the straits will become more important as the crisis in Ukraine likely deepens.

The Montreux Convention signed in 1936 gives Turkey full control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles, also known as the Turkish Straits, and regulates the transit of naval warships. It guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime and restricts the passage of naval ships not belonging to Black Sea states. But in case of war, Turkey may close the straits to other countries.