The Montreux Convention on the Black Sea

The Montreux Convention is an agreement concluded by a number of countries in 1936. In accordance with this, Turkey gained full control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The convention is due to the Swiss city of Montreux, in which its signing took place. The agreement guarantees the free passage of civil ships through the Black Sea straits in peacetime. However, the Montreux Convention imposes certain restrictions on the movement of warships. First of all, they concern non-Black Sea countries.

The provisions of the convention for many years were the cause of disputes and contradictions. Basically, they were connected with the access of the navy of the Soviet Union to the Mediterranean. Subsequently, some amendments were made to this international agreement, but it still remains in force.

Lausanne Conference

The 1936 Montreux Convention was the logical conclusion of a series of treaties designed to resolve the so-called "straits issue". The essence of this long-standing problem was the absence of an international consensus on which country should monitor the strategically important routes from Black to the Mediterranean. In 1923, an agreement was signed in Lausanne that demilitarized the Dardanelles and ensured the free transit of civil and military vessels under the supervision of the League of Nations.

Prerequisites for a new contract

The establishment of a fascist regime in Italy seriously complicated the situation. Turkey feared attempts by Mussolini to use the access to the straits to spread its power throughout the Black Sea region. First of all, aggression on the part of Italy could be subjected to Anatolia.

The Turkish government appealed to the countries that participated in the signing of the agreement in Lausanne with a proposal to hold a conference to discuss the new regime for passage of ships across the straits. The need for this step was explained by the strong changes in the international situation. Due to the denunciation of the Treaty of Versailles by Germany, tensions in Europe have increased. Many countries were interested in creating security guarantees for strategically important straits.

Participants in the Lausanne conference responded to the call of Turkey and decided to meet in the Swiss city of Montreux to reach a new agreement. Only Italy was not represented at the talks. This fact has a simple explanation: it was her expansionist policy that became one of the reasons for organizing this conference.

Discussion process

Turkey, Great Britain and the Soviet Union put forward proposals aimed at protecting their own interests. The United Kingdom advocated the preservation of most of the prohibitions. The Soviet Union supported the idea of an absolutely free passage. Turkey called for the liberalization of the regime, thus seeking to regain control over the straits. Britain tried to prevent the presence of the Soviet navy in the Mediterranean, which could pose a threat to the vital routes linking the metropolis with India.

Ratification

After a lengthy debate, the United Kingdom agreed to make concessions. The Soviet Union managed to get some restrictions on the passage through the straits of warships from the Black Sea states. The pliability of Britain was caused by the desire not to allow Turkey to become an ally of Hitler or Mussolini. The Montreux Convention on the Black Sea was ratified by all participants of the conference. The document came into force in November 1936.

Basic Provisions

The text of the Montreux Convention is divided into 29 articles. The agreement guarantees the merchant ships of any state absolute freedom of navigation in the straits in peacetime. The Commission of the League of Nations, responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Treaty of Lausanne, was abolished. Turkey was given the right to take the straits under its control and close them for all foreign military courts in the event of an armed conflict.

Prohibitions

The Montreux Convention imposes a number of specific restrictions on the class and tonnage of military vessels. Non-Black Sea countries have the right to conduct through the straits only small surface ships. Their total tonnage should not exceed 30,000 tons. The maximum period of stay in the waters of non-Black Sea ships is 21 days.

The Convention allows Turkey to prohibit or permit navigation at its discretion, if its government believes that the country is under threat of war. In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Montreux Convention, restrictions may affect the courts of any state.

Privilege

The Black Sea states have the right to conduct warships of any class and tonnage through the straits. A prerequisite for this is prior notification to the Turkish government. The 15th article of the Montreux Convention also provides for these countries the possibility of transit of submarines.

The Montreux Convention on the Status of the Straits reflected the international situation of the 1930s. Granting wider rights to the Black Sea powers was a concession to Turkey and the Soviet Union. Only these two countries possessed a significant number of large military vessels in the region.

Effects

The Montreux Convention on Straits influenced the course of the Second World War. It severely limited the possibility of deploying combat operations in the Black Sea for fascist Germany and its allies. They were forced to arm their merchant ships and try to pass them through the straits. This led to serious diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Germany. Repeated protests from the Soviet Union and Great Britain prompted Ankara to completely ban the movement of any suspicious vessels in the straits.

Controversial item

The Turkish government claims that the convention does not permit passage through the straits of aircraft carriers. But in reality the document does not contain an unambiguous mention of this. The Convention sets a limit of 15,000 tons for a single ship of the non-Black Sea power. The tonnage of any modern aircraft carrier exceeds this value. This provision of the Convention actually prohibits non-Black Sea states from carrying through ships such ships of this type.

The definition of an aircraft carrier in the text of the agreement was formulated in the 1930s. In those days, airplanes were used primarily for reconnaissance from the air. The convention states that the presence of a deck intended for the take-off and landing of aircraft does not automatically classify the ship as an aircraft carrier.

The Black Sea states have the right to conduct through the straits warships of any tonnage. However, the annex to the Convention clearly excludes from their number the vessels designed primarily for the transport of naval aviation.

Bypass maneuver

The Soviet Union has found a way to overcome this prohibition. The way out was the creation of so-called aircraft-carrying cruisers. These ships were equipped with sea-based ballistic missiles. The presence of impact weapons formally did not allow them to be classified as aircraft carriers. As a rule, large-caliber missiles were placed on cruisers.

This enabled the Soviet Union to conduct its aircraft carriers unhindered through the straits in full compliance with the provisions of the convention. The passage remained prohibited for NATO ships belonging to this class, whose tonnage exceeded 15,000 tons. Turkey preferred to recognize the right of the Soviet Union to transit aircraft-carrying cruisers. The revision of the convention was not in Ankara's interest, since it could reduce its control over the straits.

Attempts to amend

Currently, most of the provisions of the international treaty remain in force. However, the convention regularly causes violent disputes and disagreements. Periodically, attempts are made to return to the discussion of the status of the straits.

After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union appealed to Turkey with a proposal to establish joint control over access from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Ankara responded with a firm refusal. Serious pressure from the Soviet Union could not force it to change its position. The tension that arose in relations with Moscow caused the termination of the policy of neutrality by Turkey. Ankara was forced to seek allies in the face of Britain and the United States.

Violations

The Convention prohibits warships of non-Black Sea countries to have on board artillery, the caliber of which exceeds 203 mm. In the sixties of the last century, US military vessels equipped with anti-submarine missiles passed through the straits. This caused protests from the Soviet Union, since the caliber of this weapon was 420 mm.

However, Turkey stated that there was no violation of the Montreux Convention. According to her government, ballistic missiles are not artillery and are not subject to the treaty. Over the past decade, US warships have repeatedly violated the maximum period of stay in the Black Sea, but the representatives of Turkey did not recognize cases of violation of the convention.