Russia angry at appearance of NATO warships in Black Sea

Russians have been angered by the growing presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea and especially in Ukrainian ports, seeing it as a challenge to Russia's power and influence in the region.

Moscow is also concerned that the United States is preparing to deny the Montreux Convention signed in 1936, which controls the passage of military vessels in the Turkish Straits, in order to create a basis for Western navies to increase their presence in the Black Sea.

This has raised the question for Russia whether it should seek to amend the more than 80-year-old treaty as a way to counter NATO. Many have believed that the Montreux Convention and Turkey’s support have ensured Russia’s interests in the Black Sea.

The Montreux Convention concerns formal regulations for the Turkish Straits. It requires Türkiye to allow free passage for commercial vessels unless at war or threatened by an external power; the Convention also imposes significant restrictions on naval vessels from non-Black Sea countries even in peacetime.

According to the Convention, no single country may enter the Black Sea with more than nine naval vessels of up to 15,000 gross tons; and no group of coastal states outside the region may enter the Black Sea with a naval vessel of more than 45,000 gross tons. And these vessels are not allowed to operate in the Black Sea for more than 21 days.

Since then, all parties except Türkiye have expressed interest in revising the Montreux Convention at one point or another. Now, with the increasingly frequent presence of NATO ships, a growing number of Russian politicians and experts are arguing that it should be revised before the West changes it in their favor.

Many Russians believe that, in order to ensure Russia's interests in the Black Sea, the operating period of warships here needs to be shortened further, because having too many warships in the Black Sea will be a constant threat to Russia's security in general and Crimea in particular.

Senior Russian military analyst Mikhail Aleksandrov, from the Moscow Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Foreign Ministry, has argued that NATO's military buildup in the Black Sea puts the future of the Montreux Convention at risk. He suggested that Moscow should respond to the challenge from NATO ships by calling for amendments to the convention. But despite calls from lawmakers in Crimea to change the terms of the Montreux Convention, Aleksandrov said Moscow should not make any moves in this direction without Turkey's support.

The West has always claimed to appreciate Türkiye's position and respect its sovereignty in revising the terms of the Montreux Treaty. They have always used this issue to entice Ankara to support the Western views. However, Turkey's position has always been to minimize the presence of warships from countries outside the Black Sea in order to avoid instability in the region and they would be the direct "victims" to suffer the consequences. This would also be the best factor in Moscow's favor in limiting NATO's presence. Other Russian political analysts agree with this view.
However, despite Moscow's interest, the issue remains a narrow discussion within the Russian State Duma to avoid its impact on Russia-Türkiye diplomatic relations and to push Ankara's stance towards NATO. Therefore, Moscow is likely to reduce questions and debates from Crimean deputies in the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, and instead use bilateral diplomatic channels to negotiate the issue of changing the Montreux Convention.