The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits is a 1936 agreement that gives
Turkey control over the
Bosporus and
Dardanelles Straits and regulates the transit of naval warships. The Convention guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime, and restricts the passage of naval ships not belonging to
Black Sea states. The terms of the Convention have been a source of controversy over the years, most notably about the
Soviet Union's
military access to the
Mediterranean Sea.[
citation needed]
Signed on 20 July 1936 at the
Montreux Palace in Switzerland,
[1] the Convention permitted Turkey to remilitarise the Straits. It went into effect on 9 November 1936 and was registered in the
League of Nations Treaty Series on 11 December 1936.
[2] It remains in force.
The long proposed 21st century
Kanal Istanbul (Istanbul Canal) project may circumvent the Montreux Convention and allow greater Turkish autonomy with respect to the passage of military ships (which are limited in number, tonnage, and weaponry) from the Black Sea to the
Sea of Marmara. The Kanal project involves building a 45 km (28 mi) long artificial waterway through
Thrace, connecting the
Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea.
[3] While this route will run nearly parallel to the Bosporus, ships transiting it are arguably not subject to the terms of the Montreux Convention.
[4] Currently shipping traffic through the Dardanelles is heavily congested, with long wait times to pass through the Bosporus. The Kanal project‘s primary purpose is to clear up shipping traffic and boost revenue by providing an alternate maritime route.[
citation needed] However, the Kanal’s potential ability to end nearly a century of limitations imposed by the Montreux regime was never overlooked by both commentators and politicians, and in January 2018, then Turkish Prime Minister and former
Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım announced that the Kanal would in fact not be subject to the Montreux Convention.
[5] This announcement was received negatively by the Russian media and government and many have disputed the Turkish government‘s interpretation of the convention‘s original terms.
[6][7]