Türkiye rejects Greek objection to 'Turkish Straits' term in letter to UN

Türkiye's UN envoy sent a letter to the United Nations rejecting Greece's objection to the use of the term "Turkish Straits" during a recent Security Council session, saying Ankara considers the Greek position "unfortunate" and politically motivated.

In the May 8 letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Security Council term President Fu Cong, Türkiye's UN Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz said Greece's objection during the April 29 meeting "diverted attention from substantive issues under discussion and appeared to aim at serving domestic considerations rather than contributing to the objectives of the meeting."

"Türkiye firmly and totally rejects Greece's unfounded assertions," Yildiz wrote in the letter, adding that "attempts to politicize a widely used geographical term do not contribute to constructive dialogue, regional stability or the proper understanding of the 1936 Montreux Convention regime."

He said the term "Turkish Straits" is "a well-established geographical expression" collectively referring to the Istanbul Strait and Canakkale Strait, both of which are under Türkiye's sovereignty.

"The term Turkish Straits is descriptive, geographically accurate and fully compatible with the continued application of the Montreux Convention," the letter noted.

The Turkish envoy also stressed that established international practice on geographical names gives precedence to official national forms and noted that the term "Turkish Straits" has been "conventionally and consistently used in numerous international documents, including resolutions and documents of the IMO (International Maritime Organization) and NATO."

Yildiz also said the 1936 Montreux Convention is a legal agreement regulating passage through the Istanbul Strait, the Sea of Marmara and the Canakkale Strait, and was not intended to standardize geographical names beyond that purpose.

In this context, he said Greece’s attempts to impose terminology other than “Turkish Straits” could only be explained by its “historical aspirations,” adding that such efforts would not change the waterways’ legal or political status.

The letter came after Greece objected during a UN Security Council meeting on "the safety and protection of waterways in the maritime domain," where Yildiz referred to the Istanbul and Canakkale straits as the "Turkish Straits."

In a further statement submitted to the council, Greece argued that the term "Turkish Straits" was "not consistent with the Montreux Convention of 1936 regarding the regime of the Straits."

Greece said the terminology used in the convention is "the Straits," namely, "Straits of Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus."

Athens has sought to block proceedings at both the UN and NATO over the use of the term “Turkish Straits,” despite established international practice and principles that give precedence to geographical names in their official national forms.

* Ahmet Salih Alacaci contributed to this report from Washington, DC