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Turkey notifies Russia of US warships’ transit to Black Sea

A source in Turkey’s Foreign Ministry told TASS earlier on Friday that two US warships would enter the Black Sea through the Bosporus Strait on April 14 and 15 and stay there until May 4-5

ANKARA, April 9. /TASS/. Ankara has notified member states of the Montreux Convention that US warships will make a transit from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, Russia’s embassy in Turkey told TASS on Friday.

"In compliance with the Convention, Turkey has sent notifications to its participants that the warships will make a transit from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea and back," the embassy said.

The 1936 Montreux Convention that also applies to Russia as a participating state restored Turkey’s sovereignty over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The Convention was adopted at a conference on the Black Sea straits held in Montreux (Switzerland) on June 22 - July 21, 1936.

A source in Turkey’s Foreign Ministry told TASS earlier on Friday that two US warships would enter the Black Sea through the Bosporus Strait on April 14 and 15 and stay there until May 4-5.

CNN reported on Thursday quoting a US defense official that the United States was considering sending its warships to the Black Sea in coming weeks in a show of support for Ukraine. As the defense official said, the US Navy routinely operated in the Black Sea but a deployment of warships now would send "a specific message" to Moscow. The defense official added that the US was doing this amid allegations of Russia’s increased military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense did not confirm to TASS the information that the US was considering sending its warships to the Black Sea in coming weeks in a show of support for Ukraine.

Aggravation in Donbass

Western countries have repeatedly expressed concern lately over the Ukrainian military’s allegations that Russia was increasing military presence on the border with Ukraine.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said that the Russian troops' movements across Russia’s territory should not alarm other countries because Russia does not pose a threat to other states, including Ukraine. He stressed that the developments in Donbass were an internal Ukrainian conflict, in which Russian troops had never taken part.

The situation in Donbass aggravated at the end of February, with fire exchanges involving the use of mortars and grenade launchers registered every day. The conflicting sides blamed the aggravation of the situation on each other. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 30. In particular, he expressed concern that Kiev had destabilized the situation in Donbass.