Lavrov confident Türkiye won't relax Black Sea rules for foreign warships

The United States is unlikely to succeed in persuading Türkiye to change the rules of navigation in the Black Sea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference.

Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media that the minister was commenting on a statement by Celeste Wallander, the Pentagon's deputy chief of staff for international security affairs, who said earlier that the US was trying to persuade Türkiye to soften the rules of navigation in the Black Sea.

Lavrov said the US could try to get the rules relaxed for warships, which are currently banned from entering the waters through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, but would not succeed in such negotiations.

"I don't think they will succeed," the Russian foreign minister said, referring to statements by his Turkish counterparts that they would continue to abide by the provisions of the Montreux Convention.