But unlike the Black Sea, there’s no legal contract that gives any of the states the power that Turkey has: Block warships from entering and leaving. Even the B

But unlike the Black Sea, there’s no legal contract that gives any of the states the power that Turkey has: Block warships from entering and leaving. Even the Black Sea is open for civilian shipping from and to Russia, including Russian flagged merchant vessels. Now, in time of war, Denmark and Sweden would control the entrance to the Baltic Sea, and Finnland and Estonia could make it hard for the Russian fleet to leave the port of St. Petersburg, but for now neither state is at war with Russia, the international shipping lanes remain open, even for Russian military and spy vessels.