Turkey calls invasion of Ukraine a 'war,' says will implement Montreux Convention

Photo: AA

Turkey will implement provisions of the Montreux Convention on the regime of the straits as the situation in Ukraine constitutes a "war," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

"In the beginning, there was the offensive of Russia. We have evaluated it with experts, soldiers and lawyers. Now it has turned into a war," Çavuşoğlu told CNN Türk during a live interview.

The minister specifically referred to Article 19 of the convention, which prohibits the passage of belligerent states through the straits during wartime, with the exception of naval ships of the Black Sea states returning to their registered naval bases.

However, Çavuşoğlu said, this exception should not be abused. "[A ship] shouldn't be involved in the war after passing through the straits to return to its base."

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has also defined Russia's incursion as a war and once again called Moscow to stop it.

"The Russian attacks must be immediately halted and ceasefire negotiations should begin," Kalın wrote on Twitter. "We will continue our attempts for Ukrainian people not to suffer more in the face of this unjust and illegal war."

The convention dating back to 1936 gives Turkey control of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and authority to regulate the transit of naval warships.

Shortly after the start of the invasion on February 24, Ukraine asked Turkey to close the straits to naval ships belonging to Russia.

Protests

Several rights groups and citizens of Ukraine living in Turkey protested Russia's invasion of the country, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Members of the Free Thought and Educational Rights Society (Özgürder) and the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed (Mazlumder) held a protest outside the Embassy of Russia in the capital city of Ankara.

Ukrainians living in the western province of İzmir issued a statement in support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their country.

Protesters, including members of the Association of Ukrainians in İzmir, chanted slogans for their country and carried banners that read: "No to War", "Stop your attacks, Russia!"

The head of the association, Olena Özbek, said Russia was targeting kindergartens and hospitals.

"How many more should be killed for the world to stop his? Where are the promises, guarantees made to the state of Ukraine?," she asked, and demanded the toughest sanctions on Russia.

Ukrainian Nina Leonita said in tears that her parents, along with three nephews, were living in Ukraine and she was constantly worried about their safety.

"This is a political war," she said, adding that the military conflict was not the choice of Ukrainians nor Russians.

A group of Ukrainians residing in the Mugla province also protested, chanting slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin and carrying banners that demanded an end to the war.

Iryna Demiroğlu, speaking on behalf of protesters, said Russia sought to eradicate the Ukrainian state and capture its territories but Kyiv was determined to protect its soil.

In İstanbul, a group of citizens of Ukraine, including Crimeans, gathered in Beyazıt Square in the Fatih District and protested the invasion.

What happened?

President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine. He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy its neighbor, but wanted to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

Western countries imposed financial sanctions on Moscow as a result, and decided to supply Ukraine with weapons.

Turkey, which has had good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, has opposed the invasion and called both parties to return to diplomacy.

At least 368,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of the attack, according to the UN Refugee Agency. (VK)