At a UN Security Council meeting on maritime security, organised by Bahrain, Greece responded to remarks by Turkey’s permanent representative, Ahmet Yıldız, who referred to the “Turkish Straits.”
“Turkey is making every effort to ensure the safe and free passage of vessels through these waterways. The transit regime through the Turkish Straits is governed by the Montreux Convention, which has established a political and military balance in the Black Sea between coastal and non-coastal states since 1936,” the Turkish representative stated.
Greece rejects the use of the term “Turkish Straits” as inconsistent with international law and the established legal framework of the 1936 Montreux Convention. The Convention does not recognise any national designation for these waterways, but refers to them collectively and neutrally as “the Straits,” comprising the Straits of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus. This terminology reflects their international character and the principle of free navigation, rather than sovereign ownership. Recasting them as “Turkish Straits” risks implying a level of unilateral control that goes beyond the Convention’s provisions and undermines the legal balance governing one of the world’s most strategically significant maritime corridors.
Greece’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Ioannis Stamatikos, responded that “the Montreux Convention of 1936 is the sole international legal instrument regulating navigation through the Straits of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus, and it guarantees freedom of navigation in these waterways.”
Mr Stamatikos added that “respecting the terminology of the Montreux Convention aims to preserve and reaffirm the freedom it enshrines.”
“The use of the term ‘Turkish Straits’ is not consistent with the Montreux Convention of 1936 regarding the status of the Straits. The terminology, according to the Convention, is ‘the Straits’, specifically ‘the Straits of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus’,” he concluded.
The Montreux Convention, signed in 1936, remains a cornerstone of maritime governance in the region, granting Turkey control over the Straits while guaranteeing the principle of free passage for civilian vessels in peacetime. It also imposes strict limitations on the transit of naval warships, particularly those of non–Black Sea states, thereby maintaining a delicate strategic balance.
The issue of terminology carries broader legal and geopolitical implications. By referring to the waterways as the “Turkish Straits”, Ankara is seen by some observers as reinforcing a narrative of sovereignty that extends beyond the framework established by the Convention. Athens, however, maintains that adherence to the precise legal language is essential to safeguarding the international character of the passage and preventing reinterpretations that could affect navigation rights.
The Straits — comprising the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus — form one of the world’s most critical maritime corridors, linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Their strategic importance has grown in recent years amid heightened tensions in the region, particularly following the war in Ukraine, where the Montreux Convention has played a key role in regulating military access to the Black Sea.
Greece’s intervention at the United Nations reflects its broader position on the strict observance of international law in maritime affairs, especially at a time when legal interpretations and terminology are increasingly linked to strategic influence and regional stability.
