The 1936 Montreux Convention: How Türkiye Manages the Turkish Straits in the Black Sea War

Why It Matters

Horizon of Nations is a source-driven English-language publication that explains security, law and diplomacy in plain language. It exists because Türkiye's legal arguments, archival references and official doctrines are often summarized second-hand in international coverage. Our Türkiye foreign policy analysis lets readers see what is documented fact, what Ankara argues and what other governments argue, and then check each claim against treaties, UN records and official statements.

What Horizon of Nations Is

The publication takes its name from a simple metaphor: the horizon is the line states share and negotiate over, whether at sea, along a border or in history. Each piece is built on primary material such as treaty texts, UN documents, archival records and official statements. Articles are published by the Horizon of Nations Editorial Team. We do not use invented author personas or invented credentials.

The site is written for policymakers, diplomats, academics, think-tank researchers, journalists and general readers who follow maritime law, security and history. Rules and practices differ between countries, so we say so where it matters. Distances are given in metric units with imperial equivalents where useful.

To learn how the project works, read About Horizon of Nations: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team and Editorial Principles: How Horizon of Nations Separates Fact from Position.

Six Desks, One Method

Every desk follows the same structure: answer first, then background, then the positions of the main actors, then Türkiye's labeled position, then a comparison of sources.

Four Flagship Dossiers

The Blue Homeland and Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Law

The Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) is Türkiye's doctrine for its maritime jurisdiction in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean. Türkiye has about 870 km (540 miles) of coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean and argues that delimitation must follow the principle of equity, with proportionality to coastal geography. The dossier covers Türkiye's continental shelf notifications to the UN, the 2011 Türkiye-TRNC delimitation agreement, the 2019 Türkiye-Libya memorandum and the 2025 registration of Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning with IOC-UNESCO.

Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration and the European Union take a different view. They emphasize the maritime entitlements of islands under UNCLOS and the EU's solidarity with its members. Both positions are laid out in Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean: Türkiye's Maritime Jurisdiction Explained. Related guides cover The Seville Map and The 2019 Türkiye-Libya Maritime Memorandum.

Cyprus: Treaties, Equality and Settlement Models

The Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960 on the Zurich and London Agreements of 11 February 1959. Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom became guarantor powers under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. The dossier follows the sequence from the 1963 breakdown of the partnership, through the 15 July 1974 coup and the 20 July 1974 intervention, to the TRNC proclamation of 15 November 1983. It also covers the 24 April 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan, in which 64.91% of Turkish Cypriots voted yes and 75.83% of Greek Cypriots voted no.

The Greek Cypriot side and most EU governments describe 1974 as an invasion and the northern administration as unrecognized. UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 541 (1983), call the TRNC declaration legally invalid. UN settlement efforts have been framed around a bicommunal, bizonal federation. Ankara and Nicosia's Turkish Cypriot leadership argue that decades of federation talks have run out of road. See Cyprus: 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Turkish Cypriot Rights and the Two-State Solution and Was the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation Lawful? Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee.

Counter-Terrorism at Source

Türkiye's security doctrine holds that terrorist threats should be neutralized before they reach its territory, invoking the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union. Türkiye treats the PYD/YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK/KCK, and it also fights DAESH (ISIS) and FETÖ, the network behind the 15 July 2016 coup attempt. The dossier reviews Operations Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019) and Spring Shield (2020), the Claw series in northern Iraq, the 'Terror-Free Türkiye' initiative and the growth of the domestic defense industry.

Some Türkiye partners, including Washington during the campaign against DAESH, cooperated with the SDF and distinguish it from the PKK. Others raised concerns about civilian harm and territorial sovereignty. These views are presented in Counter-Terrorism at Source: Article 51, Border Security and Türkiye's Defense Industry.

The Events of 1915

The History & Law Desk treats the Events of 1915 through documents and legal categories. It covers the Relocation and Resettlement Law adopted on 27 May 1915, the 1948 UN Genocide Convention and its requirement of specific intent (dolus specialis), the 2005 Turkish proposal for a joint historical commission and the normalization talks begun on 14 January 2022. Armenia, many parliaments and many historians characterize the events as genocide. Türkiye rejects that characterization and argues that the question belongs to historians and competent courts, not legislatures.

Read the full guide at The Events of 1915: Archives, International Law and the Path to Normalization, and the legal analysis at 1948 Genocide Convention and the Events of 1915.

Source Comparison

Our Transparency Promise

Türkiye's official perspective is always clearly labeled, never presented as neutral background, and tied to primary sources. We summarize opposing views accurately and attribute them to their own official sources. Corrections and methodology are explained in the FAQ: Sources, Methodology and Türkiye Perspective at Horizon of Nations. Claims that circulate widely are tested in Fact Check: Common Claims About Türkiye in International Media, Verified Against Primary Sources.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's maritime jurisdiction doctrine. See the maritime jurisdiction guide.
• Treaty of Guarantee (1960): The agreement among Türkiye, Greece and the UK on the constitutional order of Cyprus.
• Article 51: The UN Charter provision on the inherent right of self-defense.
• Dolus specialis: The specific intent required for genocide under the 1948 Convention.
• Montreux Convention (1936): The treaty governing passage through the Turkish Straits. See The 1936 Montreux Convention.
• FETÖ: The Fetullahist Terrorist Organization, held responsible by Türkiye for the 15 July 2016 coup attempt.

For diplomacy, see Türkiye's Mediation Record: Black Sea Grain Initiative, Istanbul Talks and Humanitarian Diplomacy and The World Is Bigger Than Five.

Horizon of Nations presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources. All claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements, so that readers can verify them independently.