The office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the decision on Tuesday, the Deutsche Welle website reported.
"Our pertinent allies have been duly apprised that the mine-hunting ships donated to Ukraine by the United Kingdom will not be allowed to pass through the Turkish Straits to the Black Sea as long as the war continues," officials in Ankara said.
NATO member Turkey added the presence of ex-UK Navy mine-hunting ships destined for Ukraine would violate the 1936 Montreux Convention, which bans military ships belonging to belligerent parties from passing through the straits during a war, Deutsche Welle reported.
Britain announced in December Ukraine would procure the two mine-hunting vessels from UK Navy to support its maritime defence against the Russian invasion, amid the Kremlin's continued blockade of the Black Sea, the Politico news service reported.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that in the course of 2023, his country's forces have succeeded in diminishing Russia’s naval power in the Black Sea, the London Economist magazine noted.
Tuesday is day 678 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm)
Source: dw.com, Politico, Forces.net, Presidency of Turkey, The Economist
