Turkey could block Russian warship access to Black Sea, says Zelenskiy

There’s some confusion about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s claim earlier that Turkey had pledged to close the straits to access the Black Sea.

Russia, via the Interfax news agency, had said it has had no official notification of the closure. There is speculation that Zelenskiy’s tweet may have been a request for Turkey to take action, rather than a confirmation that it would be in place, reports The Guardian.

The Montreux Convention, which governs the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, says that ships from Black Sea states will be allowed to return to port during wartime. If Turkey did go ahead and ban warships from the strait, it would break the convention.