ANKARA, January 11. /TASS/. Turkey has made it clear to the UK that the Montreux Convention prevents minehunter vessels donated to Ukraine from entering the Black Sea, the IHA news agency reports, citing sources from the Turkish Defense Ministry.

"The Montreux Convention guarantees stability in the Black Sea and it is strictly observed. The minehunter vessels that the UK has handed over to Ukraine will not be able to enter the Black Sea until <...> [the Russia-Ukraine conflict] is over. The United Kingdom was informed about that earlier and there have been no further inquiries on the matter," one of the sources said.

On January 2, the Center to Counter Disinformation under the Turkish presidential administration denied media reports that Turkey had recently allowed a Sandown-class minehunter vessel to enter the Black Sea heading towards Romania’s territorial waters, which "seriously irked Moscow." One of the reports was published by Turkey’s Aydinlik newspaper, which cited the Chinese media. The paper pointed out that the UK had earlier announced plans to provide Ukraine with two Sandown-class ships.