Istanbul. April 14. INTERFAX-The operation of the Istanbul shipping channel after its construction is completed should not be regulated by the Montreux Convention, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said again on Wednesday.
"The Istanbul channel has nothing to do with the Montreux Convention," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the Daily Sabah newspaper.
In recent days, Turkey has been actively discussing a possible alternative to the Bosphorus Strait - the project of the Istanbul shipping channel.
Earlier in April, Erdogan announced the completion of preparations for the construction of the Istanbul Canal and expressed his determination to complete this project.
"Turkey is starting and will complete the construction of the Istanbul canal, whether certain circles want it or not. For us, only the opinion of the Turkish people is important, " the agency quotes Erdogan as saying.
Erdogan first mentioned the idea of building the Istanbul canal in 2011. At that time, he claimed that shipping in the Bosphorus could be reduced or stopped altogether, which is contrary to the Montreux Convention. The project was originally planned to be completed by 2023, but this deadline was later pushed to 2025-2026. At the same time, further postponements of the construction completion dates are not excluded.
The canal will pass through the districts of Küçükçekmece, Sazlydere and Durusu. It is expected that it will be able to pass about 160 vessels per day, and 10 bridges are planned to be built along the route of the route.
The Montreux Convention in 1936 restored Turkey's sovereignty over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. It reserves the right for merchant ships of any country to pass freely through these straits, both in peacetime and in wartime.
In addition, in peacetime, the convention allows warships of any class belonging to the Black Sea States to pass freely through the straits. For warships of non-Black Sea states, there are restrictions on class, tonnage and time spent in the Black Sea.
