Turkey warns warships not to pass through straits except for return to bases … reports ADD Newsdesk
Turkey warned warships of both Black Sea and non-Black Sea countries not to pass through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in line with the Montreux Convention.
“We have alerted all riparian and non-riparian countries against having their warships pass through the straits,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
“We implemented what Montreux says, and we will do so from now on. There has been no passage or a request for passage through the straits until today,” he said.
However, if the warship is returning to its base in the Black Sea, the passage can not be blocked, the Turkish minister noted.
Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the naval transit through Bosporus and Dardanelles connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The accord allows Turkey to cut off transit of military vessels through the straits during wartime, except for those that return to their bases.
Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran supports an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the ongoing crisis has roots in U.S. policies, according to the leader’s official website.
“The United States brought Ukraine to this point by interfering with the internal affairs of that country,” he said, adding that the United States launches rallies against governments, creates velvet movements and causes crises for other countries.
To settle any crisis, the root of the crisis should be addressed, said Khamenei, stressing that “the root of the crisis in Ukraine is the policies of the United States and the West.”
Noting that the United States and other Western countries are “not reliable” partners, the supreme leader said “the support of Western powers … is a mirage.”
In another development, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah blamed the United States for the events taking place in Ukraine, urging those trusting the United States to draw a lesson from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised speech during a conference held on the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi, the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
“What’s happening between Ukraine and Russia is very dangerous,” Nasrallah warned, adding that “Washington has done everything to push for the current scenario.”
“The United States is responsible for what is happening in Ukraine,” he said, accusing Washington of refraining from helping reach a diplomatic solution and complicating or even to certain degree inciting the Russia-Ukraine confrontation.
Nasrallah also criticized the West’s double standards in dealing with the Ukraine crisis, contrary to its stance regarding “the U.S. wars,” for example in Afghanistan. “Western countries are doing everything against Russia except for direct combat.”
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“What is happening is a lesson for those who trust and count on the United States,” Nasrallah added.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has said that his country’s “clear stance” is in favor of resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict through “dialogue.”
“Lebanon supports political negotiations to resolve the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in line with the principles specified in the UN Charter and the relevant international laws that calls for peaceful means in resolving conflicts between nations,” he added. ■