Turkey on Monday warned Russia’s ambassador in Ankara that there should be no repeat of an incident after a Russian warship sailed through the Bosporus on Sunday with a soldier holding a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile on the deck throughout the journey, an incident that Turkey called “provocative”.
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Russia and Turkey have been at loggerheads ever since a Russian fighter jet was downed by Ankara as it allegedly violated its airspace while flying over Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on Russia Monday to end such “provocative acts”, saying Turkey obeys the Montreux Convention and has not blocked any Russian ships from passing through the Bosphorus.
A Russian pilot was killed, and the Kremlin responded by imposing economic sanctions on Turkey. The source also said that the Russian side had promised to convey in full measure the official stance of the Turkish Foreign Ministry to the Russian agencies concerned.
The pictures showed the Russian serviceman on board the Caesar Kunikov as it passed through the Bosphorus strait. “If we perceive a threatening situation, we will give the necessary response”, he told reporters in the Turkish city of Antalya, according to Turkish daily Hurriyet.
Under a 1923 treaty, Turkey must let all ships pass through the Bosphorus Strait, which runs through Istanbul, during peacetime.
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Turkey-Russia relations have deteriorated sharply since Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 and Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of obtaining oil from territory controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).
