Every year after November, Türkiye enters winter.
When the monsoon season begins, the main winds blowing across the Bosphorus Strait become southerly or southwesterly winds.
If the wind picks up, the Varyag will be unable to pass through the strait at all.
Therefore, we cannot wait!
Turkey's reasoning for Hengshi Company was that the Bosphorus Strait is located on Türkiye's west coast and has a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.
As a super-large ship, the Varyag has no propulsion system of its own, and there is no guarantee that it will not run aground when passing through the Bosphorus Strait in the summer.
The Bosphorus Strait divides Türkiye into its Asian and European parts. It is a vital waterway connecting Europe and Asia, and the first gateway for Black Sea coastal countries to access the open sea.
Together with the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles Strait, it forms the Black Sea Straits.
Due to the unique geographical location of the Black Sea straits, a large number of ships pass through them every year.
But in reality, the Black Sea Strait is only about 30 meters long, and at its narrowest point it is less than 600 meters wide!
However, the two sides of the strait are dotted with famous historical sites. If the Varyag were to run aground, it would not only greatly affect the normal navigation of other ships in the strait, but the Turkish government is also worried that this unpowered behemoth would collide with buildings on the shore, which would cause incalculable major losses.
It will have a significant impact on the economies and security of neighboring countries.
This reason sounds very reasonable, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Türkiye is the one interfering.
They say summers are hot and dry, and winters are mild and rainy, but even if it rains a lot, how much more rain can there be?
Could this little bit of rain possibly have any significant impact on the depth of the strait?
In the general manager's office of Huayuan Foreign Trade Co., Ltd., Li Xiangdong, Chun Shuwei, and a capable-looking man who appeared to be around forty years old were sitting around the desk drinking tea.
Chun Shuwei has swollen and painful gums; even drinking a sip of hot tea is extremely painful.
Li Xiangdong turned around, took a box of ice from the refrigerator, and handed it to him, "Let's chill this."
It feels better when it's numb from the cold.
"Don't worry, the technicians and tugboats are almost ready. Ambassador Yao calls the Turkish Maritime Authority every day to inquire about the date of passage."
The capable-looking man spoke slowly and deliberately, picking up his teacup and taking a sip of tea.
Of course, if you don't pay close attention to the excessive force with which he holds the teacup, you might really think he's very calm!
Li Xiangdong picked up the brightly colored teapot and poured more tea for the two of them.
"Mr. Guo, according to what you're saying, the Turkish Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are actually inclined to let the Varyag pass, right?"
"That's right! Otherwise, we wouldn't even be able to secure a date at the end of October."
"So the mediation target we've been trying to reach isn't the opposing Foreign Minister Mirzağlu, but rather the Turkish Army Chief of Staff Kheviıkırıklu?"
"That's right!"
Mr. Guo hesitated slightly at first, then confirmed Li Xiangdong's question.
Although this was a state secret, Li Xiangdong was, after all, a member of this operation, and his superiors had personally instructed them to listen to his opinions at crucial moments.
Li Xiangdong looked out at the sky, where white clouds gathered and dispersed repeatedly.
Under Türkiye's political system, the president is a figurehead, while the prime minister is the actual leader of the country.
According to common understanding, if the actual leader agrees, how could the Minister of State dare to disagree with him?
This brings us to Türkiye's unique national circumstances.
At this time, Prime Minister Ecevit and President Demirel belonged to different camps and were old rivals, while Minister of State Mirzaouru happened to belong to the opposing camp of Prime Minister Ecevit.
This means that Türkiye's cabinet is inherently unbalanced.
Moreover, the Turkish government has never had control over the military and faces the risk of being overthrown by a military coup at any time.
Coincidentally, the Turkish military also favored not allowing the Varyag to pass.
Therefore, the opinion of Minister of State Mirzaoru is not important; what matters is the military's opinion.
Our country had long understood the intricacies of the situation and negotiated directly with Turkish Army Chief of Staff Kevirikol, which persuaded the military to relent.
"So, in fact, Mirzaoru did not gain any real benefit."
Li Xiangdong said firmly, "He didn't dare to go against the military's opinion, but he was unwilling to let us go so easily, so he came up with this disgusting trick!"
Mr. Guo nodded, "Mirzaouru is asking for far too much, much more than the parking fees we have to pay for the next two months."
Clearly, Li Xiangdong had already considered all the families he was thinking of.
"It's not winter yet in October. We've calculated that if the weather is good, the Varyag can sail out of the Bosphorus Strait in just one day."
Therefore, instead of taking any other measures, we chose to wait.
After all, we don't have that much money left to bribe people.
Mr. Guo didn't say it aloud, but Li Xiangdong and Chun Shuwei both understood what he meant.
"That's true, but you've forgotten something."
"What?"
"What if winter arrives early in Turkey?"
"No way, based on past experience, the end of October should be safe..."
Mr. Guo first subconsciously refuted it, and then he suddenly remembered the words the general had told him.
Soon, Mr. Guo's expression became serious. "How much earlier will winter arrive?"
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