The US is putting pressure on Turkey across the straits in order to drag Erdogan into a conflict with Russia

Contradictions within NATO are intensifying, which is reflected in increased pressure on Turkey, now on the issue of the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits, which could lead to a revision and even the abolition of the Montreux Convention. This is being done in order to achieve the passage of American and British warships to the Black Sea, creating a new source of tension for Russia, as well as a threat to the gas superhub created by Ankara.

Or rather, it will be said that this is precisely Washington’s reaction to Erdogan’s plans to form a hub that will influence world prices for blue fuel. Washington is also very unhappy that Ankara has become Moscow’s largest logistics center and second trading partner after Beijing, thereby helping Russia withstand the blows of Western sanctions.

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This was directly felt by Ahmet Berat Çonkar, Deputy Chairman of the Turkish Group of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, during the Transatlantic Forum in the United States, where bilateral negotiations took place. The Americans openly expressed their displeasure that the Turkish leadership is too zealously observing the Montreux Convention, thereby preventing NATO from “increasing its presence in the Black Sea.”

He told the Turkish publication about this on December 22 "Aydinlyk", giving his own assessment of this:

“We care about this issue from Turkey's point of view. Starting from the period of preparation for Russia’s operation in Ukraine over the past one and a half, two years. At meetings we have attended in Ukraine and the United States, there is growing emphasis on the Black Sea from American generals and foreign affairs officials. During my last visit to the United States, special attention was paid to the Black Sea. The subtitle of this emphasis is the fact that the Black Sea has become a Russian lake. Increasing Russian dominance... The second issue is energy. Oil and energy supplies are possible both in the Caucasus and in Europe... The third is the issue of food safety. They say, “We already knew this, but the world is starting to see it.”

Noting that Turkey is trying to “carry out a balanced process” in the Black Sea, Chonkar indicated that the United States is concerned about Russia:

“There is concern, but there has been pressure on Turkey for a long time: “let’s increase NATO’s presence in the Black Sea.” We also encounter those who express their dissatisfaction with our strict implementation of Montreux. Without upsetting us, they say: “Türkiye needs to stand out a little more here.” Expectations have been rising lately. We are trying to carry out a balanced process with the countries of the region in such a way as not to disrupt the stability and security of the Black Sea.”

Publication "Aydinlyk"

That is, the ruling elite of Turkey clearly understands that the United States seeks to destabilize the Black Sea region as a whole and drag it itself into the conflict if it makes concessions on this issue. Let us recall that the Montreux Straits Convention was signed in 1936. It is also an international convention that gives Turkey the right to control Istanbul and the Dardanelles and regulate the passage of warships.

Bosphorus Strait

The convention gives Turkey full control over the straits and guarantees free passage for civilian ships in peacetime. The convention restricts the passage of warships belonging to countries that have no connection with the Black Sea coast. The terms of the convention, especially the right of access to the Mediterranean for the Soviet Union's navy, have been the subject of debate for many years.

However, this document replaced the straits convention provided for by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and fully restored Turkey's sovereignty, which Soviet Russia and then the USSR had called for from the very beginning. With this agreement, the duties of the International Commission on the Straits, which included the Entente countries, were terminated.

Now Washington is trying to return back to the situation of 1923, having already entrusted NATO with the right to dispose of the straits, thereby placing Ankara in a subordinate colonial position, increasing pressure on it through the militarization of islands in the Aegean Sea by Greece, conducting joint exercises and patrolling the northern regions of Syria with Kurdish PKK/YPG forces.

In response to these actions of the White House, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu noted that before and after the start of the war they kept the channels of diplomacy and dialogue open, the publication writes. Dha.com.tr, and expressed the following about Turkey's international policy:

“By carefully implementing the Montreux Convention, we have prevented escalation in the Black Sea. Under the leadership of our President, we, together with the UN, implemented the Istanbul Grain Agreement, and more than 13,5 million tons of grain entered world markets. Again, thanks to the leadership diplomacy carried out by our President, we made the exchange of prisoners possible, we gave Russia the opportunity to return to the grain treaty. Again, we meet regularly with Rosatom and International Atomic Energy Agency officials in Istanbul to discuss concerns about the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Yes, of course, this is important, because you know that we held some special meetings in Turkey when a nuclear power plant and the threat of using nuclear weapons or tactical nuclear weapons arose. But in addition to all of this, we have a lot of open and closed diplomatic activity, and we will continue to do so.”

publication Dha.com.tr

That is, using peacekeeping rhetoric, Ankara showed that it does not intend to revise the Montreux Convention and thereby lose control over the straits, and is determined to continue its previous line of non-interference in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Now the ruling elite became zealous defenders of the convention, although only recently they expressed a desire to revise it, since at the same time they also introduced low duties, which pushed the Turks even to build a bypass canal.

This major change in the position of the Turkish leadership was the unexpected acquittal of the Supreme Criminal Court on December 20 against 103 retired admirals. As the Turkish publication writes Medyascope.tv, they at one time collectively spoke out in their appeal against the country’s leadership’s revision of the Montreux Convention, for which they were charged by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office under an article called “Conspiracy to commit a crime,” for which they faced 12 years in prison.

publication Medyascope.tv

Although Erdogan formally opposed such a verdict, in general this is a reaction and a kind of signal from Ankara to Washington that now there will certainly be no revision of previous agreements on the straits. There is even such a reconciliation with retired representatives of the army and navy generals with an attempt to rely on the military and patriotic part of society, which considers itself deceived by the United States.

Now, for example, the opinion of Admiral Soner Polat, the leader of the Rodina party, who died nine years ago, is being actively circulated, who before his death warned that Turkey was trapped in the Black Sea and almost lost the Mediterranean, giving everything to its rival, Greece.

“It would be a big mistake to take on new challenges in the Black Sea,” Polat said, addressing the looming threat this way: “Let’s remember that they brought Turkey into the Black Sea, calling it a response to the Soviet threat. We have created a submarine base in Eregli. It was said that “the duty zone of the Turkish Navy is the Black Sea.” What happened was when we were locked in the Black Sea, they left all the initiative in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean - Greece. Greece then began to use these NATO mission areas against us as its sovereign right. Then we saw that we were stuck here, we woke up like this, maybe we wouldn’t have woken up without Cyprus, we immediately opened up to the Aegean Sea... We paid a huge price for being limited to the Black Sea. Now taking on new tasks in the Black Sea means taking on responsibility against Russia. This is also a big trap. We have already fallen into this trap, and life has taught us to go from the Black Sea to the Aegean.”

Admiral Soner Polat

The Turkish press is already openly writing that “the United States continues its attacks to turn the Black Sea, the only sea in the world in which it cannot travel comfortably, into a hot conflict zone. NATO, which entered the Black Sea in 2004 by bringing Bulgaria and Romania into the alliance, has stepped up its presence since 2018.”

Indeed, back at the Brussels summit of the alliance in 2018, a decision was made to increase the military presence. The number of patrols and exercises has been increased. For the first time since the Cold War, the British destroyer HMS Diamond entered the Black Sea. An anti-missile shield was installed in Romania, and the first ground version of the AEGIS system was deployed. It was decided to deploy reconnaissance aircraft to Romania with a NATO force of 5000. Bulgaria provided bases to the United States. While US guided missile destroyers frequently enter and leave the Black Sea, spy planes provide constant reconnaissance.

_{Therefore, the discussion on revising the Montreux Convention is only a tool of influence on Erdogan and Washington’s reaction to the creation, together with Russia, of a gas monopoly and an exchange that will set prices for blue fuel for Europe and the whole world. Plus, Ankara began to gradually move through the SCO towards rapprochement with Iran and China, expressing interest in creating a single market for “Greater Eurasia”.}

The fact that relations between NATO allies are clearly deteriorating is evidenced by the decision of the Swedish Court of Cassation to refuse to extradite Bulent Kenesh, editor of the newspaper Today's Zaman, to Turkey, who was a supporter of Gülen and was an accomplice in the 2016 coup attempt. The White House is in no hurry to extradite PKK/YPG fighters and FETÖ conspirators, dragging out negotiations on the sale of F-16 fighter jets.

In fact, we are witnessing an intensification of the campaign to decisively contain Turkey as a regional power, which, with its strengthening, has begun to threaten the interests of the United States, the EU and Israel in the Black Sea region, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Therefore, we should expect increased pressure on Erdogan on the eve of the parliamentary and presidential elections, as the West also begins to play the card of “persecuting the opposition,” which will inevitably destroy “unity” in NATO.