Ukraine has asked Turkey to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships, Ukraine’s ambassador to Ankara said on Thursday, after Russia launched air and ground assaults on its neighbour.
The request puts NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good relations with both countries, in a difficult position.
Under a 1936 pact, Ankara has control over the straits and can limit warship passages during wartime or if threatened. “We are calling for the air space, Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to be closed. We have conveyed our relevant demand to the Turkish side. At the same time, we want sanctions imposed on the Russian side,” Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar told a news conference in Ankara.
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Turkey has opposed sanctions on Russia. President Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara would try managing the crisis without abandoning ties with either Moscow or Kyiv, but has also called Russian steps against Ukraine unacceptable. While building close cooperation with Russia on defence and energy, Ankara has also sold sophisticated drones to Ukraine and signed a deal to co-produce more, angering Moscow.
Turkey opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its 2008 recognition of two Georgian regions. Earlier this month, six Russian warships and a submarine transited the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits to the Black Sea for what Moscow called naval drills near Ukraine waters.
On Thursday Turkey advised its citizens in Ukraine to stay at home or in a safe place and avoid traveling, after airlines cancelled flights due to the closure of Ukraine’s air space. Erdogan also convened a summit of top security officials for 0800 GMT to discuss the Russian offensive, his office said.
