When we talk about security in the Black Sea, all our actions must be in line with international law. The Turkish Government closed the Bosphorus to warships after Russia's war against Ukraine and this will continue. Turkey's preference has always been for disputes with Greece to be resolved through effective dialogue between the two countries.

This was stated in an interview with BGNES by the chairman of the Istanbul-based EDAM Center for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies, Ambassador Tacan Ildem, who served as NATO's assistant secretary general for public diplomacy.

Regarding Turkey's strict adherence to the Montreux Convention, Ildem was adamant that there was no risk of it being ignored in the foreseeable future.
"First of all, when we talk about security in the Black Sea, all our actions must be in line with international law. The Montreux Convention is an international instrument that has been in force since 1936 and is an integral part of international law, the expert said.

"And now the Montreux Convention is being applied after the war started by Russia against Ukraine. The Turkish government invoked Article 19 of the convention and closed the strait to warships and that will go on. As long as the circumstances are such, this practice will be applied," he added.

Asked by BGNES what are the risks for the region after Turkish President Erdogan recently expressed his surprise at Greece's rearmament and said that this activity is not in line with good neighbourly relations, the public diplomacy specialist expressed the need for negotiations.

"It is true that there are a number of issues between the two countries (Greece and Turkey) related to the Aegean Sea. Turkey's preference has always been to resolve these issues through an effective dialogue between the two countries," Ildem said, adding that he does not expect an immediate problem in this regard.

Ildem noted the importance of the recent elections in Turkey, in which Recep Erdoğan won a new mandate, as well as the upcoming vote in Greece on 25 June.

"I hope that now that the elections are behind Turkey at least, after the elections in Greece on June 25, the new governments will be able to start a serious dialogue to deal with the issues at hand," the expert added, highlighting the common interest of the two neighbouring states, as "they are NATO allies". /BGNES