Despite
tensions, Russia's 'Syria Express' sails by Istanbul
It's an
occasional but regular sighting in Istanbul. Out of the mist on the
Bosphorus that divides Europe and Asia looms the hulk of a Russian warship
purposefully making its way to the Mediterranean.
Most likely the ship is
part of Moscow's so-called "Syria Express", a key supply line for naval
deliveries from its Black Sea ports to military operations backing the
regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Dozens of Russian
warships, auxiliary naval cargo ships and sometimes even submarines have
passed through the Bosphorus Strait, northbound and southbound. Every
month since Russia stepped up operations inside Syria last year, according
to maritime experts.
But the sight of a
Russian warship in Istanbul is striking given that Moscow and Ankara are
experiencing their worst relations since the end of the Cold War after the
shooting down of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets on the Syrian border
on November 24.
The two countries back
opposing sides in Syria's almost five-year civil war, with Russia the key
supporter of the Damascus regime while Turkey argues that the ouster of
Assad is essential to solving the Syrian crisis.
Russian naval warships in the Bosphorous
(photo by: -, -/AFP Graphic)
Analysts say that Turkey
is bound by the 1936 Montreux Convention on the Dardanelles and Bosphorus,
a treaty that gives Ankara full control over the two Straits while
committing it to allowing the free passage of naval traffic from Black Sea
littoral states.
Under its terms, Turkey
can only block Russian naval shipping if war is declared or if it feels
under an imminent threat of war.
"Since there is no
declared war between these two countries it is not possible for Turkey to
close the Straits to Russian warships," said Cem Devrim Yaylali,
Istanbul-based Turkish naval expert and editor of the Bosphorus Naval News
website.
He said that even "in the
worst days of the Cold War" -- pitting NATO member Turkey against the
Soviet Union -- Ankara and Moscow both observed the treaty.
Mikhail Voitenko, Russian
maritime expert and editor of the Maritime Bulletin website, said that the
supplies delivered via the Bosphorus were a "lifeline" for the Syria
campaign.
"Without the Syrian
Express, the Syrian campaign would choke in days or weeks."
Disrupt Syria Express?
A Russian Navy vessel is seen
sailing through the Bosphorus in Istanbul,
on its way to the coast of Syria.
(photo by: Bulent Kilic/AFP/File)
The ships come from Russia's Black Sea naval port or its Sevastapol
base in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 in a
move opposed by much of the international community including Turkey.
After entering the Black
Sea mouth of the Bosphorus, they sail through the iconic waterway in full
view, passing famous landmarks like the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce and Topkapi
Palaces.
They then sail across the
Sea of Marmara before passing through the Dardanelles and turning south
towards the Mediterranean coast of Syria and Russia's naval base at Tartus,
its only such facility outside the ex-USSR.
Their passage, however, has not been
without tensions in recent weeks.
Turkey accused Russia of
"provocation" when a soldier aboard the Tsezar Kunikov was spotted on
December 4 with a MANPAD shoulder launched missile aimed at the shore.
Passage of Russian warships through
the Bosphorus
has not been without tensions in recent weeks.
(photo by: Ozan Kose/AFP/File)
The Kilo-class Russian
submarine Rostov na-Donu was also followed by a Turkish patrol vessel
during its passage through the Bosphorus last month.
Almost all the naval
traffic in the Bosphorus is Russian. However, the Arleigh Burke class US
destroyer USS Ross made a passage in mid-December, possibly in a show of
NATO support to Turkey at the peak of the crisis with Moscow.
After one of its planes
was shot down just on the Syria border, Moscow has discouraged Russians
from travelling to Turkey dealing a blow to the tourism industry and also
imposed sanctions on selected goods.
But it stopped short of
using the full potential array of sanctions and analysts say Russia may be
mindful that Turkey could still disrupt the transit of materials to Syria.
Voitenko said Turkey
could "disrupt the Syrian Express to a near fiasco without violating any
of the international agreements on Straits shipping regime."
He argued that as well as
the warships and auxiliary cargo ships, ordinary freighters are also
involved and these could be stopped by Turkish authorities under any
pretext.
"In fact, Turkey may stop the
Russian campaign in Syria without a single shot fired...," he added.
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Januar 2016
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