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Turkey on Sunday officially recognised Russia's attacks on Ukraine as a "state of war" and said it was implementing an international treaty giving it the power to limit warships' passage through the strategic Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits.
"It's no longer a military operation but a state of war," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
"In this case, of course, whichever of them, it can be Russia or Ukraine, we apply the Montreux agreement."
The 1936 Montreux Convention governs the free movement of commercial ships in peacetime through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits and grants Turkey the right to block warships in wartime if threatened.
Ukraine has officially asked Turkey to close the Dardanelles strait, and thus access to the Black Sea, to Russian ships.
Nato member Turkey, which has strong ties with Russia and Ukraine, did not immediately respond to this request.
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A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA -
US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP -
A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA -
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA -
A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA -
Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP -
A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters -
US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA -
German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA
But Mr Cavusoglu said Turkey could not prevent Russian and Ukrainian access to the Black Sea because of Article 19 of the convention, which allows littoral states' vessels to return to their home base.
He said whether the ship was registered to the home base was clear and warned against any abuse.
"It should not be involved in the war after declaring it will return to the base and passing through the Bosphorus," Mr Cavusolglu said.
Turkey has offered to host talks between leaders of the two countries.
"We have repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution but the war is a reality right now," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's top press aide, Fahrettin Altun, tweeted on Sunday.
