Turkey Cancels NATO Exercises in Black Sea, Gives Strict Reason

ANKARA – Planned NATO military exercises in the Black Sea have been postponed or canceled outright. Turkey made a surprising decision in the midst of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the decision citing a decades-old convention that grants Ankara veto power over naval deployments in the region.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency in an interview on Tuesday (31/5/2022), Turkey’s foreign minister explained Ankara’s reluctance to join the Western sanctions campaign against Moscow in response to its attacks on Ukraine.

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He said his country was trying to avoid escalating tensions as it tried to broker negotiations to end the conflict.

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“If we follow the sanctions, we will not be able to fulfill the mediating role that we have now. We apply the Montreux Convention on warships, but the airspace, the corridor, we have to keep it open,” he said, referring to the 1936 treaty that gave Turkey the right to regulate maritime traffic through the Black Sea.

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“We have, in accordance with convention, canceled or postponed planned NATO exercises. We play an important role, and we fulfill our obligations,” Cavusoglu said.

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