Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu speaks in a joint news conference with Bahraini counterpart in Manama, Bahrain, Jan. 31, 2022. (AA File Photo)
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Ankara was implementing an international pact on naval passage to the Black Sea.
"Turkey will implement all provisions of Montreux Convention in a transparent manner," the minister told a live interview with broadcaster CNN Türk.
Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, NATO member Turkey has control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, linking the Mediterranean and Black seas. The pact gives Ankara the power to regulate the transit of naval warships and to close the straits to foreign warships during wartime and when it is threatened.
The Turkish diplomat also held talks on Ukraine with Estonia's Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets along with Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra and Helga Schmid, the secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
In addition, he discussed the humanitarian issue and efforts to ensure a cease-fire in Ukraine during a conversation with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Turkey earlier called Russia's invasion of Ukraine a "war" on Sunday in a rhetorical shift that opened the way for the move.
While building close cooperation with Russia on defense and energy, Ankara has also sold sophisticated drones to Ukraine and signed a deal to co-produce more, angering Moscow. Turkish officials noted that the country would continue to support Ukraine's territorial integrity and unity.
Turkey opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its 2008 recognition of two Georgian regions.
He also said Turkey was pleased about Ukraine and Russia's decision to meet on Monday.
Ukraine agreed to launch peace talks with Russia on Sunday, even as battles raged in key cities and President Vladimir Putin raised the prospect of a nuclear escalation with the West.
Delegations from each country are set to meet at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
There are no conditions to the planned talks at the border, according to the statement.
He noted that Turkey is also striving to ensure the safe evacuation of around 6,600 Turkish citizens in Ukraine.
The Turkish nationals started to arrive on Sunday morning by land after the Turkish Foreign Ministry arranged their evacuation through Romania and Bulgaria due to the closure of the Ukrainian airspace after Russia's attacks on Ukraine.
Evacuated Turkish nationals entered Turkey through northwestern Hamzabeyli Border Gate at the Turkish-Bulgarian border and will be transferred to Istanbul by bus.