# Russia's fleet in the Black Sea and Turkey's role

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-fleet-in-the-black-sea-and-turkeys-role/979098>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Tags:** ukraine-invasion\
**Created:** [January 31, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-fleet-in-the-black-sea-and-turkeys-role/979098 "2023-01-31T12:10:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-fleet-in-the-black-sea-and-turkeys-role/979098/1 "2023-01-31T12:10:42Z")

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When the Moskva was sunk almost a year ago, some news articles said Russia couldn’t replace the ship because it wouldn’t be allowed to send a replacement through the Turkish straits.

Does Turkey get to decide which ships can go through the straits? I’ve tried to read the Montreux convention but it’s unclear which rules apply in this case, if Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine counts as a war, etc.

And is it up to Turkey’s government to make a political decision to enforce (or not) the terms of the treaty? Could Erdoğan decide to allow any Russian ships into the Black Sea? Or could he use that possibility as a bargaining chip, the same way he’s been using migrants and Sweden’s accession to NATO?

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**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-fleet-in-the-black-sea-and-turkeys-role/979098/2 "2023-01-31T12:13:14Z")

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Good question! I found this:

> The Turkish straits (Turkish: Türk Boğazları) are **two internationally significant waterways in northwestern Turkey**. The straits create a series of international passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea.

I think it would be illegal for them to restrict passage.

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**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-fleet-in-the-black-sea-and-turkeys-role/979098/3 "2023-01-31T12:23:54Z")

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> **[Turkish straits | Straits Question](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_straits#Straits_Question)**
>
> The Straits have had major maritime strategic importance at least since Bronze-age armies fought the Trojan War near the Aegean entrance, and the narrow crossings between Asia and Europe have provided migration and invasion routes (for Persians, Galatians, and Turks, for example) for even longer. In the declining days of the Ottoman Empire, the "Straits Question" involved the diplomats of Europe and the Ottomans.
> By the terms of the London Straits Convention concluded on 13 July 1841 between the...

> The modern treaty controlling access is the 1936 [Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux_Convention_Regarding_the_Regime_of_the_Straits), which remains in force as of 2023. This Convention gives the [Republic of Turkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Turkey) control over warships entering the straits but guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime.