Turkey has begun a blockade of Russian naval vessels, preventing transit through the Dardanelles and the Strait of Bosporus, between the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

According to the AIS tracking system for the movement of maritime vessels, only Turkish vessels are moving along the Bosphorus, and in the Dardanelles there is no movement of any shipping at all.

This has completely strangled the Russian Navy Black Sea fleet, which is now unable to leave the Black Sea to travel anywhere else in the world AND is unable to return to its home ports!

Under the terms of the Montreux Convention, Turkey is only permitted to block warships when it is "threatened with aggression" or when it is "at war."

Since it was Turkey who shot down a Russian military jet last week, I'll leave it to all of you to decide whether Turkey sees itself "threatened with aggression" or "at war."

This is a terrifyingly dangerous escalation of hostilities between Turkey and Russia and moves us a giant step closer to actual World War. This isn't a game and it isn't a joke. This is exactly how wars start.

[link to www.superstation95.com (secure)]