Türkiye defends term 'Turkish straits' in UN rebuttal to Greece
Türkiye's Permanent Mission to the United Nations formally responded on May 8 to Greece's objection at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to the use of the term "Turkish straits." Defending it as a "well-established and geographically accurate expression" fully consistent with the 1936 Montreux Convention, Türkiye called on all U.N. member states, including Greece, to recognize and respect its use.
In its letter, Türkiye's Permanent Mission to the U.N. argued that the term "Turkish straits," referring to the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, is "descriptive, geographically correct and in full conformity with the Montreux Convention," since both straits lie entirely within the territory and under the sovereignty of the Republic of Türkiye.
"If a geographical feature is located entirely within the territory of a state, the official designation determined by the competent national authority may naturally be used in official statements," the mission stated.
Ankara also pushed back on Greece's legal argument that the Montreux Convention's own terminology, "the straits," along with specific names for the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and Dardanelles, implied that "Turkish straits" was non-compliant.
Türkiye's rebuttal said the convention establishes the "legal regime governing passage through the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles," but that "beyond this purpose, the convention does not aim to standardize geographical names."
Türkiye added that it had applied the Montreux Convention "meticulously and impartially" for approximately 90 years.
The mission noted that the term "Turkish straits" had been used consistently in international documents for many years, including in texts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and NATO.
What Greece objected to
Greece's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ioannis Stamatekos, had raised the objection during the April 29 Security Council session on maritime waterway safety and security.
"The 1936 Montreux Convention is the only international legal instrument governing navigation in the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus and guaranteeing freedom of navigation there," Stamatekos said.
"Respecting the terminology of the Montreux Convention aims to preserve and confirm the freedom secured by that convention," he added.
He argued that the convention's terminology was "the straits", specifically "the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus", and that "the use of the term 'Turkish straits' is not consistent with the 1936 Montreux Convention in terms of the straits regime."
Ankara's verdict: 'Unfortunate' and politically motivated
Türkiye's Permanent Mission described Greece's intervention as "unfortunate," saying it "distracted attention from the core issues" and served "domestic political purposes rather than the objectives of the debate."
Ankara said it would continue using the term on the basis of its "sovereignty and jurisdiction" and called on all U.N. member states to "recognize and respect" the established and legitimate use of the expression.
turkiyetoday
