Türkiye to continue its active role in Black Sea security

ANKARA

Türkiye will continue to take initiatives for maintaining peace and stability in the Black Sea and implement the Montreux Convention, the defense ministry has said, informing that a new maritime command to be set in Istanbul will serve as part of the decisions taken by the Collation of the Willing for Ukraine.

“Türkiye prevented the spread of the war between Russia and Ukraine to the Black Sea by firmly implementing the Montreux Convention provisions,” sources from the Defense Ministry said on April 2.

They referred to the closure of the Turkish straits to the passage of warships right after the start of the war in February 2022 in line with the 1936-dated Montreux Convention.

“Despite increasing geopolitical competition and security risks in the Black Sea, our country maintains its stance on preserving stability in the region, preventing the escalation of tensions, and ensuring that security is primarily provided by the coastal states,” they suggested.

In this regard, Türkiye continues to take initiatives to prevent the Black Sea from becoming an arena of competition and plays an active role in preserving the regional security architecture, the sources underlined.

Türkiye’s security approach towards Black Sea is based on maintaining balance and stability provided by the Montreux Convention and the principle of regional ownership which stipulates that only littoral countries will play an active role, according to the sources.

“Thanks to this approach, the Black Sea has turned into an area of conflict.”

The statement followed news that Türkiye will establish a new maritime command in Istanbul as part of the Ukraine Coalition of the Willing which was established in 2024 by a number of Western countries, including Türkiye, France, Britain and others.

The establishment of a new command is part of Türkiye’s security policies, the sources said.

“Fourteen countries have applied to deploy troops but the personnel of this command will only be from Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania,” they informed.

 Multinational headquarters yet to be approved by NATO

The sources also informed about the work to establish a new NATO command in southern province of Adana.

The command will serve as part of NATO’s regional defense plans where Turkish troops will coordinate all necessary work with the allied nations, the sources said.

They also informed that necessary procedures for the approval of the multinational force at NATO are underway and necessary information will be made when this process is completed.