On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for his nation’s humanitarian and military assistance, stating that a “ban on the passage of (Russian) warships to the Black Sea” was critical for his country.

Despite Ukraine’s urgent pleas, Turkey, which administers the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits that connect the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, has not officially declared any prohibition on Russian vessels using the straits.

According to the Russian embassy in Turkey, Russia has not received any formal information from Turkey regarding the closure of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian vessels.

Turkey’s foreign minister said on Friday that, under the terms of the 1936 treaty, Ankara could not prevent warships returning to a Black Sea home port from passing through the straits. In the Black Sea, Russia maintains a significant naval station.