Black Sea Geopolitics and the Status of the Straits in Romanian-Turkish Diplomatic Relations: From Lausanne to Montreux (1923-1936)

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to analyse the reasons behind Romania’s support for Turkey at the Montreux Conference, by looking at diplomatic documents and correspondence kept by the Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs; to compare the advantages and disadvantages between the two doctrines concerning the legal status of waterways; to compare the provisions of the two conventions. The novelty of the research paper is based on documentation and content analysis of emblematical conventions and doctrines, of archival and historiographic material, and of secondary bibliography concerning the issue of the Straits, in contrast with observation, analysis, and synthesis of recent, publicly circulated information, relating to the Straits and the Black Sea’s status within the wartime context in Ukraine. Conclusions. The ongoing war in Ukraine has reopened, at least at diplomatic and international relations levels, discussions concerning Black Sea geopolitics, especially on the status of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The Regime of the Straits is what ultimately determines the opening or closing of the Black Sea, especially in exceptional circumstances, such as those generated by military conflicts within its basin. The current legal status of the Straits has been established since the interwar period, because of evolving international law in this matter, but also as a necessary measure in establishing an international regime for them, one that Russia would have to respect. Through the Lausanne Convention relating to the Regime of the Straits (July 24th, 1923), the Black Sea was opened to all ships in peacetime, and under certain conditions in wartime, if Turkey would be neutral. The Lausanne Convention also established an International Commission meant to oversee the keeping of the international regime of the Straits. A Romanian representative was present within this body, until its dissolution in November 1936. The Lausanne Convention was a triumph of the legal doctrine regarding the international nature of waterways, which provided for the supervision of freedom and equality in treatment for all flags, through international commissions of littoral states and representatives of major powers. Evidently, Lausanne hurt Turkey’s interests as riparian, and the country sought all possible means to restore its full authority over the Straits. It achieved this through the new International Convention on the Regime of the Straits (Montreux – July 20th, 1936), by which it was given full rights, by following the legal doctrine of the right of littoral states to their own territory (opposed to the Lausanne doctrine). In reaching this objective, Turkey needed international support, and found one if its biggest collaborators in Romania, even though Bucharest had more advantages from the Lausanne provisions.