Turkey BLOCKS 2 Royal Navy minesweepers destined for Ukraine

On Tuesday Turkey stated that two British minehunter ships intended for Ukraine cannot traverse Turkish waters due to an international agreement. The announcement comes after U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps revealed last month that Ukraine had secured a deal to acquire Sandown Class vessels from the Royal Navy to address challenges posed by Russia’s ongoing blockade of the Black Sea. However, Turkey clarified that it had communicated to its NATO allies the decision to prohibit the passage of these ships through its territorial waters.

“Our pertinent allies have been duly apprised that the mine-hunting ships donated to Ukraine by the United Kingdom will not be allowed to pass through the Turkish Straits to the Black Sea as long as the war continues,” a statement from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s communications directorate said.

Turkey, asserted that Ukrainian and Russian cannot pass through its waters based on an international pact,  The Montreux Convention of 1936. Last month, U.K. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps disclosed the agreement between Ukraine’s armed forces and Britain’s Royal Navy for the procurement of Sandown Class vessels, a move aimed at addressing the challenges posed by Russia’s persistent blockade of the Black Sea. Despite these plans, Turkey has officially communicated to its NATO allies that ships will not be granted passage through its territorial waters.

It will be quite obvious that at the end of the War, these vessels will surely be required for the cleaning up process, at which time Military Ships can pass if hostilities have stopped.