"The rest of the countries would support the war with Turkey": the Romanian press on the possible reaction of Russia in the event of the closure of the Black Sea straits
Since the end of June, Turkey has been building the Istanbul Canal with a length of 45 km and a cost of $ 25 billion. The beginning of the construction of a bypass route in relation to the Black Sea straits was apprehended in neighboring countries.
As noted in the Romanian edition of Romania Military, firstly, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus are not territorial and internal waters of Turkey, although geographically they are within its borders. This is due to the fact that Ankara has not ratified UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) due to "eternal" disputes with Greece over the islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
Secondly, traffic through the straits is governed by the Montreux Convention, which guarantees free transit of civilian ships (except for pilotage) and provides for restrictions on the tonnage and time spent by warships in the Black Sea.
According to the author, Ankara, building a bypass canal, hopes to bypass these "taboos". However, he explains that Turkey has no legal basis to impose a ban on the movement of merchant ships through the straits. At the same time, the desire for "easy money" has already led to the fact that Ankara raised the question of a possible withdrawal from the Montreux Convention. The author believes that it is also predictable that this agreement will be boycotted without its formal denunciation by means of setting various bureaucratic obstacles for ships that have chosen straits for crossing over a canal. But in both cases, Ankara will have a tough reaction.
The closure of the straits can be viewed as an act of war, in the event of participation in which Russia would be right, and the rest of the countries would directly or tacitly support Moscow
- listed in Romania Military.
The Romanian press points out serious differences between the Istanbul Canal being built and other similar objects. Thus, navigation on the Danube is free, which is regulated by the Belgrade Convention of 1948. At the same time, Romania has built a paid Danube Canal, which leads ships to the Black Sea. It reduces the length of the crossing by 400 km, significantly saving time and fuel.
But in the case of the Istanbul Canal, what is the economic logic? Should you fork out without saving time and fuel? Turks want to ask for money for a service available, according to the Convention, free of charge. Well, is this a business?
- the author asks rhetorically.
For our part, we will also ask ourselves the question: who will prevent Turkey, without quarreling with Russia and without withdrawing from the Convention, to force other countries to use the channel? Moreover, the states located on the Black Sea can hardly be called friendly towards the Russian Federation, and Moscow has no particular reason to stand up for them before Ankara.
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