It is becoming increasingly difficult to “keep the balance” between the acute financial interest in Russian tourists and the pressure of the world community in Turkey, local media say. At least the Turkish Foreign Ministry has already issued a statement, which – for all its evasion and warnings – may well be the reason for Russia’s closure of tourism to Turkey.
Note: Dutch airline KLM has deployed two planes flying to Russia
We are talking about straits and their closure. If Turkey legally recognizes the situation as a conflict, it will have the right to close two of its straits to warships. According to the statement of the Turkish Foreign Minister, this meets the conditions of the Montreux Convention. However, Mr Mevlut Cavusoglu has repeatedly said that even if Turkey closes the straits, Russia still has the right to use them. “If there is a requirement for ships in conflict to return to their bases, this should be allowed under the convention. Our experts are working on the situation to determine whether there are grounds for applying clear and precise provisions of the convention, “Cavusoglu said.
Turkey, in turn, is under severe pressure from Kyiv, which sees the presence of Russian ships in the Black Sea as a threat. Even before the start of the Russian special operation, Ukraine had already made an official request to Turkey to close the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus to Russian ships.
Moreover, Ukrainian Ambassador to Ankara Vasyl Bodnar asked Turkey to close its airspace to Russia. In response, the Turkish Foreign Minister has so far limited himself to general words that Turkey is “for peace and against annexation” and promised to do everything possible to complete this “operation” as soon as possible.