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How the Black Sea turned into a strategic point and the geostrategic position of Turkey

2023-08-14 14:54:01Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA THOMAS LATSCHAN
How the Black Sea turned into a strategic point and the geostrategic position of
How the Black Sea turned into a strategic point and the geostrategic position of Turkey

For a long time, the Black Sea was considered in Europe as a secondary geopolitical issue. But since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, things have changed. Because many different interests collide there.

Since the end of the grain agreement between Russia and Ukraine, attacks against merchant ships of both sides have increased. Since mid-July, Russia has blocked the deal, increasingly bombing Ukrainian ports and threatening to attack cargo ships.

For its part, Ukraine has declared six ports on Russia's Black Sea coast war zones and is threatening to launch retaliatory attacks against Russian cargo ships, tankers and port facilities.

For both countries, the Black Sea is in a way the gateway to the world, its strategic and economic importance is immense. But other littoral countries, notably NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, also have strong interests in this inland sea between Europe and Asia.

Russia: Area of ​​primary interest

Russia has always considered the Black Sea as its sphere of influence. Since under the Tsarist Empire and later in Soviet times, this sea was the southern arm of the great power. Even today, it is considered a springboard from which Russia can exert its influence in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe. The Black Sea also gives Russia access to more distant states in which it is militarily active, such as Syria or Libya. Russia already has its own naval base in Tartous, Syria.

Russia's military heart in the region is the Black Sea Fleet, which has been headquartered in Sevastopol since 1793. The port city on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Ukraine since 2014, is of particular importance to Moscow. Indeed, it has one of the few deep-water ports in Russia that can be used for military purposes, even in winter, without ice.

Numerous regional conflicts, purposefully provoked in recent years, show how eager Moscow is to maintain its hegemony over the Black Sea region. For example, Russia owns, according to international law, only about ten percent of the entire Black Sea coast, but now has de facto control of almost a third of the coastline, as it has continued to expand the areas under the influence of her. In 2008, Moscow intervened in Georgia and created two republics loyal to Russia and not recognized internationally, including Abkhazia on the eastern Black Sea coast; in 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and since the beginning of the Ukraine War in 2022, it has invaded and occupied large areas of southern Ukraine, located on the Black Sea.

The Black Sea is also of crucial importance to Russia in terms of trade policy. Most of the export of grain, fertilizers and other goods passes through the region's ports. The Black Sea trade route is also gaining importance, as it enables the delivery of goods to countries that have not caved to Western sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine: Vital trade route

If the Black Sea is an important trade route for Russia, it is even more so for Ukraine. In peacetime, Ukraine handled more than 50 percent of its total exports through the largest Black Sea port of Odesa. It was mostly grain destined for the world market that was sent there until the grain agreement with Russia expired in mid-July. Indeed, the Black Sea region is also considered one of the largest granaries in the world. Before the war, Russia and Ukraine together accounted for 60 percent of world exports of sunflower oil, almost 24 percent of wheat and about 19 percent of barley.

The fact that Russia and Ukraine are increasingly targeting each other's merchant ships is directly related to this situation. Both countries would be hit hard economically by a slowdown in freight traffic through the Black Sea. Although Ukraine, as a result of the war, has meanwhile diversified its export routes - only 40 percent of Ukrainian grain is still exported via the Black Sea and the rest overland via the EU.

Kiev will long depend on the smooth operation of exports of goods by sea.

Europe: Corridor between political opponents

Thus, as Russia and Ukraine compete for trade routes in the north-south direction, the east-west connection is becoming increasingly important for Brussels. Along with Romania and Bulgaria, the EU has two member states on the Black Sea coast, and Association Agreements have already been concluded with Georgia and Ukraine. Brussels increasingly sees the Black Sea as an important corridor for transporting goods and energy between Asia and Europe. As Europe wants to become less and less dependent on Russian oil and gas, the producing countries of the Caucasus, especially Azerbaijan, are increasingly coming into focus. Baku exports oil and gas to Europe via Georgia and Turkey. The route through the Black Sea avoids Russia in the north and Iran in the south,

NATO therefore also has strong security interests in the Black Sea.

From 1997 until the outbreak of war in Ukraine, NATO organized major exercises there every year. However, only three NATO navies, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, are permanently present there. This dates back to the Montreux Agreement, concluded as early as 1936, which guaranteed Turkey full sovereignty over the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles – the only exit from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Immediately after the outbreak of war in February 2022, Turkey closed the passage to all warships, not only Russian ships, so the balance of naval power in the Black Sea has been maintained ever since.

Turkey: Balance as the main objective

Therefore, Turkey occupies a key geostrategic position, as it controls access to the Black Sea, even if it is guaranteed by international treaties. Ankara is NATO's main partner in the Black Sea region and sees itself as a trading hub between Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Both are very interested in the political status quo in the Black Sea region: Turkish head of state Erdogan and Russian president Putin.

Turkey is very keen to secure its leading role in the region vis-a-vis NATO. In this context, it is above all the relationship with Russia that is decisive for Ankara. The Black Sea is considered both in Ankara and Moscow as an absolutely priority area of ​​interest, a strategic area.

Turkey is carefully monitoring that the balance of power in the Black Sea region, which has developed over decades, is preserved as much as possible. The Montreux Treaty gives Ankara the opportunity to sideline other players, including NATO, in the Black Sea region. And this also works in favor of Moscow./ DW


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