London unable to deploy warships in Black Sea
“It’s a murky affair and it’s not yet clear what they mean by this. One can assume that it is related to the security guarantees which Kiev is currently discussing with a number of countries,” Andrey Kelin said.
The United Kingdom’s plans to create a naval coalition for assisting Ukraine in the Black Sea will have no serious effect on the situation in the region, said Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin.
“It’s a murky affair and it’s not yet clear what they mean by this. One can assume that it is related to the security guarantees which Kiev is currently discussing with a number of countries,” he said. “Clearly, these guarantees will be mostly on paper, and not in real life. Even [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky admitted <…> earlier this week that there is no military element in them.”
He went on to say that even if London decided to deploy its warships in the Black Sea, they won’t be able to enter it due to the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits and Turkey’s commitment to it.
“Two mine hunters have been moored here for two years, with Ukrainian flags hoisted. Reportedly, even a team of Ukrainian sailors was trained to operate them.
However, they will not be able to enter the Black Sea, because Turkey prohibited warships of the ‘warring parties’ to enter, in accordance with related provisions of the Montreux Convention. That is why they are most likely to remain here,” the Russian diplomat said.
He added that London has already tried to create a tank coalition and an aviation coalition for Ukraine, which have apparently produced no result.
“The Britons have handed over [to Ukraine] three maritime reconnaissance and rescue helicopters. They also trained special forces to operate at sea – this is what Britons are really good at.
And that’s all they can do,” Kelin said. “All these efforts and coalitions appear to have no serious, noticeable effect that could have somehow influence the situation.”
