NATO exercises in the Black Sea canceled because of Turkey

In an interview with Anadolu News Agency, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu explained why Turkey did not support Western sanctions against Russia after Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine. Accordingly, Turkey seeks to avoid an escalation of tensions as it tries to sponsor negotiations to end the conflict.

“If we also joined the wave of sanctions, we wouldn’t be able to act as mediators like we do today. We made the Montreux Convention on warships, but we kept the skies open,” said Cavusoglu, referring to the 1936 agreement that gave Turkey control of maritime traffic in the Black Sea.

“We have postponed or canceled pre-planned NATO exercises in line with the convention and our obligations.“, emphasized Mr. Cavusoglu.

Turkey has invoked the Montreux Convention to deny certain Russian warships access to the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait since the conflict in Ukraine broke out in late February. However, Ankara allowed the Russian ships to turn around. return to its permanent base, in accordance with the terms of the convention.

While Cavusoglu did not specify which exercises had been postponed or canceled, NATO has held several exercises across Europe in recent weeks, including several in Estonia that took place in May with the participation of 15,000 soldiers from 14 countries. The location of this exercise is more than 60 km from the nearest Russian military base.