Russia urges the US and Turkey to comply with Montreux convention

 

The US guided-missile destroyer Donald Cook and French intelligence warship Dupuy de Lôme entered the Sea of Marmara on Thursday on their way to the Black Sea, the Turkish newspaper Jum Hurriyet reported, says RIA Novosti.The newspaper published a video online showing the US warship passing through the Dardanelles Strait early Thursday morning, accompanied by Turkish coastguard vessels.The destroyer, equipped with the Aegis fire control system, entered the Sea of Marmara an hour later and will stay in the Black Sea for 21 days, according to the paper. The French intelligence ship followed an hour behind the US destroyer.According to the Montreux Convention on the status of the straits, warships of countries that do not have access to the Black Sea may remain no longer than 21 days in the sea.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said that the presence of US ships in the Black Sea has often exceeded the limit under the convention.