The wider Black Sea region—which brings together the littoral states plus neighbouring countries—is experiencing a rapidly shifting security environment that combines large-scale conventional military threats, internationalized civil wars and protracted conflicts, as well as weapons of mass destruction (WMD) challenges. As such, a fragile set of states caught between the Euro-Atlantic community, on the one hand, and Russia and its allies, on the other, has emerged as a key interface between the two security communities.
Since the 1990s, most of the world’s identified cases of illicit trafficking of nuclear materials—fissile materials, in particular—have been located in countries around the Black Sea. The nuclear security situation in the region is further complicated by the existence of areas with unstable governance and protracted conflicts such as in Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and areas of Eastern Ukraine since 2014.
The Washington’s open, aggressive behavior in the international arena pushes traditional allies away from it. But despite the escalation of the conflict with Turkey, the United States, being the founding member of NATO, is still pursuing the goal of strengthening its presence in the Black Sea.
Today, the
main allies of the White House in this region are the leadership of Georgia and
Ukraine, who dream of entry into NATO and accept all the imposed conditions.
However, for more than 80 years the presence of warships of non-Black Sea
powers, that could enter the sea via the Bosphorus, has been regulated by the
Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits. According to it, the
total non-Black Sea tonnage, with few exceptions, is limited to 15 thousand
ships. It prevents the emergence of something more significant there than a
detachment of light forces, one or two large warships. At the same time for
warships there are restrictions on the class and duration of stay. In
particular, ships of non-Black Sea states can stay in the water area for no
more than 21 days.
Any attempts to violate this document will be extremely negatively perceived by
Turkey, that should be one of the leading players in the region. It is
impossible to revise the convention without the consent of Turkey, and only
supporting by Ankara country can provide overwhelming superiority in the Black
Sea.
In such a situation, the Pentagon considers it possible to use the navigable
channel of Istanbul for the passage of American aircraft carriers, that will
connect the Marmara and the Black Sea. A channel of about 50 km in length will
run parallel to the Bosphorus, while the Montreux Convention will not extend to
it. The construction of Channel Istanbul will be completed in 2023.
By the end of construction, everything will depend on the leadership of Turkey. If Ankara concedes and allows the passage of the US Navy aircraft carriers through the new channel, it will surrender all its positions in the Black Sea to the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, NATO member countries (this is not about Bulgaria and Romania) maintain a military presence in the Black Sea region. The Sea Shield 2019 naval drills ended in mid-April, and the reconnaissance ship HMS Echo of the British Royal Navy continues to carry out its mission in the Black Sea.
The US Navy already has 11 atomic high-speed aircraft carriers, each with about 90 aircraft. If we imagine that a small part of them will be placed in the Black Sea, then Russia will receive a defensive response. And then all the terrible scenarios of hostilities are likely to happen.
There is a hope that the Turkish government has enough resilience and determination in confronting the harsh rhetoric of other NATO partners.
