Greece’s representative at a United Nations Security Council meeting on maritime security, held in Bahrain on Wednesday, directly responded to remarks by Turkey’s permanent representative to the UN, who referred to the “Turkish Straits” alluding to the Dardanelles, Bosporus and Sea of Marmara.

Ahmet Yildiz had noted that “Turkey makes every effort to ensure the safe and free passage of ships through these waterways.” He added that the transit regime through the “Turkish Straits” is governed by the 1936 Montreux Convention, which has established a political and military balance in the Black Sea between coastal and non-coastal states.

In reply, Greece’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ioannis Stamatekos, stressed that “the Montreux Convention regarding the regime of the straits is the sole international legal instrument governing navigation through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus, and guarantees freedom of navigation in these straits.”

He further underlined that respect for the convention’s terminology aims to preserve and reaffirm the freedom it enshrines.

Stamatekos maintained that the use of the term ‘Turkish Straits’ is not consistent with the Montreux convention, saying the correct term is “the Straits,” when specifically referring to the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus.