US television network apologizes for showing Istanbul as Greek territory

US television network CBS on Wednesday sent a letter of apology to Turkiye for falsely identifying Istanbul, the country’s largest city, as part of Greece in a recent report about Russian warships traveling through the Turkish Straits.

“This graphic that incorrectly showed Istanbul as a part of Greece and not Turkey, was rectified once we were aware of the mistake,” CBS’ administration said in the letter, addressed to the Turkish Communications Directorate.

It added that the channel would review its broadcasting processes in order to prevent such errors in the future.

The news division of CBS, one of the four major US television networks and once home to such revered journalists as Walter Cronkite, has traditionally been its crown jewel.

On Tuesday Fahrettin Altun, head of the Communications Directorate, had protested the network’s error, saying he hoped it was an "honest mistake" and demanding an apology.

"We hereby protest your organisation’s misrepresentation of Turkiye’s borders – which we hope, was an honest mistake – officially and unequivocally," he had written in a letter.

"We expect your organisation to take necessary measures in order to prevent a similar mistake from being made in the future and to refrain from taking any steps that could challenge our county’s territorial integrity as well as an apology regarding yesterday’s events.”

In recent years Turkiye has resisted Greek encroachment on its territory in the Aegean, and the government is quick to react against any map seen to rob it of any of its rightful dominion.

Ukraine war and Montreux Convention

As the Russia-Ukraine war nears its second week, Turkiye has worked to clarify issues on implementation of the Montreux Convention governing the Turkish Straits.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Russia wanted to transit four naval vessels into the Black Sea last week, but three of them were not registered to Black Sea home bases. “We told Russia not to send these ships. And Russia told us that these ships will not sail through the straits,” he said.

The 1936 Montreux Convention gives Turkiye the authority to restrict the passage of naval vessels through the Turkish Straits in times of war.