The United States will send two warships to the Black Sea next week amid a Russian build-up of military forces along the border with Ukraine, the Turkish government said Friday.
NATO ally Turkey said the two US warships would reach the Black Sea from Wednesday to Thursday after Washington notified Ankara of the move just over two weeks ago.
“A message was sent to us through diplomatic channels 15 days ago that two US warships would sail to the Black Sea, in accordance with the Montreux Convention,” a 1936 treaty that gave Ankara control of the straits, Turkey’s ministry said. Foreign Affairs. , as reported by Reuters. “The ships will stay in the Black Sea until May 4th.”
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby declined to confirm the specific move Friday, telling reporters that the Department of Defense routinely sends ships to the region.
“That’s nothing new,” Kirby said.
The Navy often sails its ships across the Black Sea – a body of water that stretches almost all of Ukraine’s southern border – but the new move signals Moscow that Washington is aware of recent Russian aggression.
Kirby referred to Russia’s recent actions in eastern Ukraine several times on Friday as a “build-up” of troops rather than training, as Moscow has maintained.
Fighting resumed last month between Moscow-backed separatists and Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine, ending a ceasefire that the two groups closed last summer. The action involves the NATO countries, with the US European Command raising its alert status to the highest level.
Russia, in turn, has accused NATO countries that do not share a coastline with the Black Sea for increasing naval activity.
The White House said this week that Russia has placed more troops on Ukraine’s eastern border than ever since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine.