Diyar Güldoğan
24 January 2024•Update: 24 January 2024
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK
Ankara is “strictly” following the provisions of the 1936 Montreux Convention that gives Türkiye the authority to restrict the passage of naval vessels through the Turkish Straits during times of war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.
"As for the Pentagon statement, as far as I understood it from your words, I haven't read it, but they said that they will try to get Türkiye to change the strait regime right now.
"If they want to achieve that, then our Turkish colleagues have told us multiple times that as protectors of the Montreux Convention, they will strictly follow its provisions," Lavrov told Anadolu at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York when he was asked about the Pentagon's indication of willingness to work with Türkiye "to move away from the state of conflict," referring to Türkiye invoking the Convention, which has been widely understood "as a desire to repeal the convention."
"Well, (US defense chief) Llyod Austin is back to work, right? That's why they're so active now. Well, I don't think that they will succeed," said Lavrov.
Assistant defense chief for international security affairs, Celeste Wallander, welcomed Tuesday cooperation between Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye on a Black Sea de-mining operation, and said it is "really important" not just for Ukraine but for commercial shipping and shipping in general in the Black Sea.
"So, we want to work with the littoral countries of the Black Sea, including Turkey, on conditions under which we can move away from the state of conflict in which Turkey decided to -- and as the, kind of, guardian of the Montreux Convention, invoked that provision of the Montreux Convention," Wallander was quoted as in a statement.
Regarding the question of a possible visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Türkiye, Lavrov said Putin received an invitation from the leaders of Türkiye, North Korea and other foreign partners.
"This schedule is shaped by the Kremlin and his administration," he said.
