Manoeuvres in the Black Sea
The presentation of the new Soviet note to Turkey, com- plaining of the increasing frequency of British and American naval visits to Straits ports, carries a step further the Soviet- Turkish diplomatic exchanges begun in June. This latest step, coming so soon after the publication of the earlier exchanges, indicates that the Soviet Government is embarking on a serious diplomatic effort to reinforce Russia's security in the south. It can be inferred that the ultimate Russian aim is to weaken Turkey's association with the NATO Powers. But the nature of the initial moves suggests that the Soviet Government regards the provisions of the Montreux Con- vention concerning the passage of the warships of non-Black Sea Powers through the Straits as a significant chink in. Russia's armour. The Turks can reply that courtesy visits of foreign naval units, at the invitation of the Turkish Government, are explicitly permitted by the terms of the Montreaux Convention; though such a reply would merely invite a Russian rejoinder that that was precisely one of the easons why the Convention should be revised. On the larger issues involved, the Turks will doubtless maintain the attitude they adopted in their first note, which indicated that a revision of the Convention is a matter for all the signatory Powers, not just for Russia and Turkey. Unless the Russians propose to continue their attempt to budge the Turks—a task that usually calls for dynamite rather than argument—their next move may be a simultaneous approach to the other signatories.
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