The United States intends to withdraw from the Montreux Convention – media

Moscow - Kyiv, June 9 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - The Convention has been violated more than once by NATO warships in recent years, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently spoke about with concern. The last time the Convention was violated in the spring of 2014 was by the American frigate USS Taylor, which exceeded its stay in the Black Sea by 11 days (allegedly due to the fact that it ran aground off the coast of Turkey). Russian experts do not rule out that in the near future violation of the Convention may become the norm.

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On May 28, the French Navy frigate Surcouf entered the Black Sea. Prior to this, until May 29, the reconnaissance ship Dupuy de Lome, belonging to the fleet of this country, was also located here.

In addition, off the coast of Romania and Bulgaria, the American missile cruiser Vella Gulf, which arrived in the Black Sea on May 23, operates. For this marine area it is considered a significant naval group. According to the Convention, Vella Gulf will have to leave the water area no later than the evening of June 13, and Surcouf - before the evening of June 18. But it is likely that they will be delayed, and if not, they will be replaced, as it has already been previously, by new NATO ships.

According to the chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement (DFT), Mikhail Nenashev, such actions by NATO in the Black Sea "are the beginning of a big US and North Atlantic alliance policy on aggressive pressure on Russia." Its integral part, the DFT leader believes, is an attempt to abolish the Montreux Convention as such, which will enable ships of any countries to be in the Black Sea for a long time.

According to the Montreux Convention, warships of third countries cannot stay in the Black Sea for more than 21 days, the IVO recalls. The Convention was signed by 1936 states in 10, including the USSR and England. The document restricts the passage of warships of non-Black Sea powers into the Black Sea in peacetime. The passage of light surface ships (no more than 10 thousand tons with displacement) is allowed from their side; the passage of aircraft carriers and submarines is completely prohibited. At the same time, the total tonnage of ships of non-Black Sea countries that can simultaneously be in the Black Sea is limited to 45 thousand tons (for one country - 30 thousand tons), the total number - nine (no more), and the duration of their stay - three weeks. In times of war, the passage of belligerent powers is completely prohibited. The duration of the Convention was set at 20 years, but with the proviso that two years before the expiration of the specified 20-year period, none of the countries that signed the document would raise the question of denunciation. No such proposals have yet been received.

Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences Eduard Rodyukov notes that "earlier such attempts had already been made, but were not supported by any of the Black Sea countries." But, according to the expert, “now, apparently, the Americans and the NATO leadership, given the changing geopolitical situation due to the Crimea’s accession to Russia, will try again to secure the consent of their satellites - Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania - to give the green light to the Convention. Bucharest, for example, has already agreed to increase its military budget, and it is precisely off the coast of Romania that NATO ships are the longest. ”

Rodyukov also draws attention to the fact that the position of Ukraine and Turkey is very important here. Ankara, whose navy is the largest in the Black Sea, is known to have until recently been against further militarization of the Black Sea and changes to the Montreux Convention. But Turkey is a NATO member, and the United States and Western countries have certain levers of pressure on this country. For example, in March 2014, when a referendum on the self-determination of Crimea was being prepared, the media, citing a Turkish diplomatic source, reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone that Ankara would close the Black Sea straits to Russian ships. However, later, when the US-fueled opposition began to hold demonstrations against Erdogan, the Turkish leader’s position changed.