When leaving NATO, Turkey risks losing the Bosphorus
The Bosporus and Dardanelles, which are under the control of Turkey, are of strategic importance for the countries of the Black Sea region. Indeed, control over them makes it possible to influence the entire region and establish its own rules in it.
Black Sea Straits and Russia
The Black Sea is a closed body of water. It is connected with the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean by the aforementioned straits. If a ship is heading from Bulgaria or Georgia, for example, to Greece or Spain, it inevitably goes through the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles, that is, past the Turkish coast.
Even tsarist Russia at one time laid eyes on the straits. Then they talked a lot about the Byzantine Constantinople, which became Turkish Istanbul, about the temple of Hagia Sophia, which became a mosque. That it is the cradle of Orthodoxy, and that the straits should be Russian.
Of course, the desire of Russia to own the straits was explained primarily by the need for free access of the ships of our Black Sea Fleet to the Mediterranean and to the vast oceans. And this also meant a guarantee of the security of Ukraine and the Caucasus and the impossibility of a surprise attack from the sea on our Black Sea coast.
One of the reasons for the Crimean War, which erupted in the middle of the 19th century, was the desire to seize the straits. As a result, Russia almost lost Crimea. In exchange for the return of the Crimea to Russia, she had to cede Kars and some territories in Transcaucasia, which today are considered part of eastern Turkey. But the Bosphorus remained Turkish.
After the First World War, both the Russian and Ottoman empires collapsed. The Soviet state headed by Vladimir Lenin and the Turkish Republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal were formed on their fragments. The first state that recognized the young Turkish Republic, provided its assistance and support, was Soviet Russia.
Subsequently, relations between the countries somewhat cooled. Turkey feared the interest of the Soviet Union in the straits, as well as territorial claims from the Georgian and Armenian Soviet republics. Although in 1953, the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov firmly stated that the Soviet Union was not claiming any Turkish territory, it was too late. Turkey by that time had already become a member of NATO (since 1952). Turkey’s entry into the North Atlantic bloc and rapprochement with the United States was due to fear of a powerful Soviet state.
Turkey and the West
A number of agreements have been concluded between the United States and Turkey, both bilateral and within NATO. As a result, Turkey received military protection and economic help. In exchange, the United States gained the possibility of deploying military bases on Turkish territory that were in close proximity to Soviet borders.
Western partners have repeatedly emphasized that Turkey’s membership in NATO is a guarantee that the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles will remain Turkish.
Turkey’s control of the straits is based on the Montreux Convention, adopted back in the 30s of the last century, which determines the procedure for passing foreign ships. This convention, combined with American support, allows the Turks to control the entrance to and exit from the Black Sea. And the Americans have the opportunity of unhindered passage of their warships into the Black Sea.
Today Turkey has a complex multi-vector policies. Its leader, Recep Erdogan, is playing a difficult game with the United States, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, trying to get the most out of the contradictions between the countries. He is blackmailing Germany with refugees, and the United States with rapprochement with Russia.
He repeatedly threatens NATO with an exit from this organization. Indeed, the position of Turkey does not at all agree with the position of Western countries. For example, Syrian and Iraqi Kurds supported by the United States will never find a common language with Turkey.
At the same time, Turkey has more and more points of contact with Russia, cooperation with which promises to be mutually beneficial. And all fears of Russia and its possible territorial claims are gradually disappearing. The Russian Federation is not the Russian Empire, we have not dreamed of owning the straits for a long time.
Today, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles are of interest to Russia only in terms of the unhindered passage of Russian civil and military vessels from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, which does not infringe on Turkish interests.
Black Sea Straits and Russia
The Black Sea is a closed body of water. It is connected with the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean by the aforementioned straits. If a ship is heading from Bulgaria or Georgia, for example, to Greece or Spain, it inevitably goes through the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles, that is, past the Turkish coast.
Even tsarist Russia at one time laid eyes on the straits. Then they talked a lot about the Byzantine Constantinople, which became Turkish Istanbul, about the temple of Hagia Sophia, which became a mosque. That it is the cradle of Orthodoxy, and that the straits should be Russian.
Of course, the desire of Russia to own the straits was explained primarily by the need for free access of the ships of our Black Sea Fleet to the Mediterranean and to the vast oceans. And this also meant a guarantee of the security of Ukraine and the Caucasus and the impossibility of a surprise attack from the sea on our Black Sea coast.
One of the reasons for the Crimean War, which erupted in the middle of the 19th century, was the desire to seize the straits. As a result, Russia almost lost Crimea. In exchange for the return of the Crimea to Russia, she had to cede Kars and some territories in Transcaucasia, which today are considered part of eastern Turkey. But the Bosphorus remained Turkish.
After the First World War, both the Russian and Ottoman empires collapsed. The Soviet state headed by Vladimir Lenin and the Turkish Republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal were formed on their fragments. The first state that recognized the young Turkish Republic, provided its assistance and support, was Soviet Russia.
Subsequently, relations between the countries somewhat cooled. Turkey feared the interest of the Soviet Union in the straits, as well as territorial claims from the Georgian and Armenian Soviet republics. Although in 1953, the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov firmly stated that the Soviet Union was not claiming any Turkish territory, it was too late. Turkey by that time had already become a member of NATO (since 1952). Turkey’s entry into the North Atlantic bloc and rapprochement with the United States was due to fear of a powerful Soviet state.
Turkey and the West
A number of agreements have been concluded between the United States and Turkey, both bilateral and within NATO. As a result, Turkey received military protection and economic help. In exchange, the United States gained the possibility of deploying military bases on Turkish territory that were in close proximity to Soviet borders.
Western partners have repeatedly emphasized that Turkey’s membership in NATO is a guarantee that the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles will remain Turkish.
Turkey’s control of the straits is based on the Montreux Convention, adopted back in the 30s of the last century, which determines the procedure for passing foreign ships. This convention, combined with American support, allows the Turks to control the entrance to and exit from the Black Sea. And the Americans have the opportunity of unhindered passage of their warships into the Black Sea.
Today Turkey has a complex multi-vector policies. Its leader, Recep Erdogan, is playing a difficult game with the United States, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, trying to get the most out of the contradictions between the countries. He is blackmailing Germany with refugees, and the United States with rapprochement with Russia.
He repeatedly threatens NATO with an exit from this organization. Indeed, the position of Turkey does not at all agree with the position of Western countries. For example, Syrian and Iraqi Kurds supported by the United States will never find a common language with Turkey.
At the same time, Turkey has more and more points of contact with Russia, cooperation with which promises to be mutually beneficial. And all fears of Russia and its possible territorial claims are gradually disappearing. The Russian Federation is not the Russian Empire, we have not dreamed of owning the straits for a long time.
Today, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles are of interest to Russia only in terms of the unhindered passage of Russian civil and military vessels from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, which does not infringe on Turkish interests.
Information