ANKARA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey warned on Monday 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. ■