The 1936 Montreux Convention Explained: Turkish Straits, Article 19 and Black Sea Security

Why It Matters

The Political Anatomy offers Türkiye foreign policy analysis built on treaties, archives and official statements rather than headlines. It is written in plain English for diplomats, lawyers, academics, analysts and journalists who want to understand why Ankara takes the positions it does, and what the legal and documentary record says. Where international coverage is incomplete, we set out Türkiye's official arguments next to the views of other parties and let readers weigh the evidence.

The Anatomy Method: Skeleton, Tissue, Circulation

We treat each political issue as an anatomy lesson and examine one layer at a time.

• The legal skeleton: treaties and conventions that give a dispute its structure, such as the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the 1936 Montreux Convention, the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, the UN Charter (including Article 51 on self-defense) and the law of the sea.
• The archival tissue: Ottoman and Turkish state archives, official gazettes, diplomatic correspondence and UN documents. These are the primary sources a claim must be tested against.
• The security circulatory system: the border, counter-terrorism and defense-industrial capacity through which policy is carried out in practice.

Separating the layers shows where a dispute is legal, where it is historical and where it is operational. It also shows where different sources simply disagree.

Six Desks, One Method

Lead Dossiers

Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean

Türkiye has a mainland coastline of about 870 km (540 miles) in the Eastern Mediterranean. The dispute over continental shelf and exclusive economic zone delimitation turns on how much weight islands should carry against that coastline. Key milestones include the Türkiye–TRNC continental shelf agreement of 21 September 2011, the Türkiye–Libya maritime jurisdiction memorandum of 27 November 2019, and Türkiye's submission of its continental shelf outer limits to the United Nations on 18 March 2020. In 2025 Türkiye presented its Marine Spatial Planning and registered it with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025. Our guide to Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) and Eastern Mediterranean maritime jurisdiction and the explainer on why the 2025 IOC-UNESCO registration matters cover the detail.

The Cyprus Issue

The 1959 Zurich and London Agreements and the 1960 treaties created a partnership republic with Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom as guarantor powers. The partnership broke down in December 1963, and the island has been divided since 1974. Later settlement efforts included the Annan Plan referendum of 24 April 2004, when 64.91% of Turkish Cypriots voted yes and 75.83% of Greek Cypriots voted no. Further talks followed at Crans-Montana in 2017, in Geneva in 2021 and in New York in October 2024. Read The Cyprus Issue Explained and the analysis of Article IV of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.

Counter-Terrorism at Source

Türkiye shares a border of roughly 1,300 km (800 miles) with Iraq and Syria and describes its cross-border operations as an exercise of the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union. FETÖ is the term Türkiye uses for the network it holds responsible for the 15 July 2016 coup attempt. Our dossier on counter-terrorism at source and the Terror-Free Türkiye initiative covers the doctrine and its legal basis. A companion piece examines Türkiye's defense industry and its roughly 80% domestic production rate.

The Events of 1915

The Relocation and Resettlement Law was enacted on 27 May 1915 and published in the official gazette Takvim-i Vekayi on 1 June 1915. The term 'genocide' is defined in the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, which requires specific intent (dolus specialis). Türkiye proposed a Joint Historical Commission in 2005, and direct normalization talks with Armenia began on 14 January 2022. See The Events of 1915: Archives, Legal Criteria and Türkiye's Fair Memory Approach.

Key Players & Positions

We summarize each party in its own terms, with attribution to its official sources.

• Greece and the Republic of Cyprus argue that islands generate full maritime zones under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The EU has expressed solidarity with both states in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Greek Cypriot side has historically supported a bizonal, bicommunal federation as the framework for a settlement.
• Armenia and a number of national parliaments describe the events of 1915 as genocide. Armenia has also engaged in the normalization process with Türkiye.
• The United States and the EU list the PKK as a terrorist organization. Washington has nonetheless partnered with the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) in the campaign against DAESH, and Ankara objects to that partnership.
• The United Nations remains the framework for Cyprus talks and the repository for maritime submissions.

Rules and recognition differ by country. Parliamentary resolutions, designations and maritime claims are national or regional acts, not uniform global law.

Source Comparison

Where sources differ, each article shows which claim comes from which document.

Latest Analysis and Fact Check Hub

The latest-article stream on this page lists new guides, analysis and fact-checks as they are published. Each entry follows the same template: Why It Matters, Background, Key Players & Positions, Türkiye's Position, Source Comparison, FAQs and Key Terms. The Fact Check hub states each claim and its origin, then corrects or contextualizes it using treaties, official statements and archival documents.

Mission and Transparency

Our mission is to explain global and regional affairs in plain, analytical English while presenting Türkiye's official doctrines, legal arguments and archival record to an international readership. We do not present a Turkish government statement as neutral fact: it is labeled as Ankara's position. We also do not caricature opposing views. Read more on the About page, in our Editorial Principles and in the FAQ on sources and methodology. Articles are signed 'The Political Anatomy Editorial Team'.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's maritime jurisdiction doctrine covering the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean.
• TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983 and recognized only by Türkiye.
• Montreux Convention: the 1936 regime governing the Turkish Straits. See the Montreux explainer.
• Joint Historical Commission: Türkiye's 2005 proposal, discussed in Türkiye–Armenia normalization since 2022.
• Mediation and UN reform: see Türkiye as Mediator and The World Is Bigger Than Five.

The Political Anatomy presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.