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Turkey Stuck In The Middle Of Rising Tensions in Black Sea
Rising tensions in the Black Sea place Turkey in a very difficult position. The first challenge Turkey faced was the passage of U.S. warships through its straits carrying humanitarian aid to Georgia, a move slammed by Russia. Turkey refused to open the straits to two hospital ships of the U.S. Navy the tonnage of which exceeded the limits set by the Montreux Convention which governs international traffic through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits; but agreed to the passage of smaller U.S. ships in line with the convention. The U.S. ships delivered humanitarian supplies to the Georgian port of Batumi. Meanwhile warships that belong to NATO members Spain, Poland and Germany also passed through the straits heading to Constanta in Romania to participate in the long-planned NATO exercises. Russia responded harshly to the increased NATO military presence in the Black Sea, threatening that it would hold Turkey responsible if the ships did not leave in 21 days. As tensions are high in the region Turkey is concerned being the sole NATO member that borders Caucasus on one hand, and being dependent on Russia for 70% of its energy on the other. Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, August 29, 2008
Posted at: 2008-08-29
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