The Middle East has always been a pain point for Europe. In particular, the biggest problem that arose at the beginning of the 20th century was Turkey. For a long time, this empire could dictate its terms to half of the world, but over time, it ceased to occupy such a prominent place.
Treaty of Sevres
It was on the basis of the Treaty of Sevres that the Lausanne Conference was convened at one time. One of the main treaties representing the end of the First World War was formed on August 10, 1920 in the city of Sevres in France between the members of the Entente and the government of the Ottoman Empire. The document was based on the division of the lands of the empire with Turkey, which is part of it, between Italy and Greece.
In addition to the division of lands, one of the agendas was the recognition of Armenia as an independent Armenian Republic, as well as its direct relation to Turkey. The basic rights and obligations of the new state were determined. Ultimately, this peace treaty was completely canceled at the Lausanne Conference of 1922-1923.
Political position before negotiations start
Sevresthe agreement could not last long due to the instability of the leading countries of the world. The situation in the Middle East was getting worse, and the previously powerful alliance of England and France, called the Entente, was living out its last days. This led to the fact that during the offensive of the national troops in Turkey led by Kemal, the Greek troops located on the territory of the country simply could not influence the situation and win.
The defeat of the Greek army led to several results at once:
- offensive coup in Greece, which led to the onset of a crisis in the system of government;
- resignation of the pro-Greek government of Lloyd George in England and the establishment of a new conservative policy of Bonar Low.
Kemal's victory led to the defeat of the interventionists and the proclamation of Turkey as an independent republic. All this led to the urgent need to conclude a peace treaty with a new country, which led to the appointment of the Lausanne Conference.
Parties involved
To resolve the emerging issue at the Lausanne Conference in 1922, several countries were urgently gathered. First of all, they were powerful European states, like France, Italy, Great Britain. However, the authorities of Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania also took a visible part.
Besides them, representatives of the USA and Japan acted as observers. Of course, we should not forget about the Turkish delegation. All other states, such as Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Albania, could attendonly when solving particular issues that directly involve them. Even the Russian authorities could only be present during the resolution of issues with the straits, since the Turkish authorities, despite the 1921 agreement concluded between the two countries, simply did not invite Russian delegates.
Agenda
The Lausanne Conference was held entirely under British presidency and pressure. All negotiations at that time were conducted by Foreign Minister Curzon, who is one of the English lords.
First of all, the delegations gathered to resolve 2 issues: the conclusion of a new peace treaty with Turkey and the determination of the regime of the straits in the Black Sea. The Soviet and British sides sharply differed in their opinions on these issues, which led to such a long decision.
Soviet point of view
At the first stage of the Lausanne Conference, the Soviet delegation struggled to help Turkey. The main provisions of the decision on the issues of the straits were formed by Lenin himself and were as follows:
- complete closure of the Black Sea straits for foreign warships in peacetime and wartime;
- free merchant shipping.
The original plan of England was recognized by Russia as a complete violation of the sovereignty and independence of not only Turkey itself, but also Russia and its allies.
English point of view
This point of view, proclaimed at the Lausanne Conference,supported by all the countries of the Entente. It was based on the complete opening of the Black Sea straits for all warships, both in peacetime and in wartime. All the straits were to be demilitarized, and control over them was given not only to the Black Sea countries, but also to the Entente itself.
By the way, it was this point of view that won, since England promised to provide Turkey with all possible assistance in economic and territorial issues under a peace treaty. However, in the end, the first project was built on unfavorable conditions for Turkey, and therefore was not accepted. At the beginning of 1923, the first stage of the conference was declared completed without a decision on the merits.
Second stage of the conference
The second stage of negotiations on the Lausanne Conference of 1923 continued without the participation of the Soviet side, because right before the start, one of the Russian representatives, VV Vorovsky, was killed. The Turkish delegation was left completely without supporters, which led to noticeable concessions. However, the Entente countries also offered a number of significant bonuses to Turkey. The Soviet point of view without support was completely destroyed by British diplomats, and therefore was practically not considered.
At this stage, questions regarding the future peace treaty with Turkey were mainly formed. A number of significant documents were signed, among them the Convention on the Regimes of the Straits and the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923.
Basic postulates
The decisions of the Lausanne Peace Conference wereconcluded as follows:
- the modern borders of Turkey were established, but the decision on Iranian borders was postponed;
- The independent Armenian state ceased to be protected by the power of the allies, the state practically remained on its own;
- Turkey returned a number of lands taken under the Treaty of Sevres - Izmir, the European Dardanelles, Kurdistan, Eastern Thrace.
Decisions of the Lausanne Conference for Turkey meant the beginning of friendly relations between England and Turkey. In fact, the Entente, despite all the visible concessions, proved to be the winner of the war, and therefore could dictate its terms. In particular, the Kars region, which was under occupation, was never returned to Turkey, but was completely cut off from it on a legal basis. In addition to this, the ratified convention on the regime of the straits has become a significant lever of influence on the country, and the Armenian issue has completely passed under the decision of the European countries, and not Russia.
Armenian question
It cannot be denied that the Entente countries and the Turkish side ratified the results of the convention and began to apply them. However, the Soviet Union completely refused to ratify it, because it believed that the Straits Convention was causing irreparable harm to the security and interests of the country. All this led to a huge problem with the Armenian-Turkish border. The treaty legally defined the borders of Turkey, but in fact they do not coincide at all precisely because Russia did not accept the Lausanne Peace Treaty of July 24, 1923. Until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the country adhered toMoscow Treaty, concluded in March 1921 directly between Russia and Turkey. However, this agreement has a significant drawback - it cannot be recognized legally, since the Armenian delegation defending its interests did not participate in the negotiations.
All this led to problems as to where the Kara region should be defined. Earlier, at the Berlin Congress, held back in 1878, it was officially separated from Turkey and transferred to the Russian Empire. However, at the time of the signing of the agreement, the region was occupied by Turkish troops, and before that it was considered part of Armenia.
The Lausanne Conference became a kind of summing up of the results of the First World War - while the Entente side won, and the coalition of Germany and Turkey lost. At the same time, Armenia was considered one of the countries included in the bloc of allies, so they simply could not reward the defeated enemy in this way.
To this day, Turkey is pursuing a policy of discrediting Armenia - this is one of the provisions in the political doctrine of the country. In response, the Armenian side does not take any action at all and prefers to remain completely passive.
Results of the Lausanne Conference
The conference in the Swiss city of Lausanne was an absolute triumph for the British diplomatic corps. First of all, the fact that the Turkish authorities completely renounced the former supporter - Russia and did not support his soft demands on the regime of the straits.
However, one cannot but admit that their hegemony over the worldGreat Britain gradually began to lose. The great economic and political power of the country still allowed them to influence the whole world, but they still had to make a number of concessions. The Treaty of Sèvres was a prime example of a standard British treaty, so its liquidation became the subject of criticism from the British media, and the authorities themselves. During the conclusion of the treaty, England managed to claim for itself the oil-rich province of Mosul, but they failed to establish control over it, and the creation of a new strait resembling Gibr altar also failed.
But at the same time, one cannot but admit that the Entente had a leading role during the conference, in particular on the Armenian issue. So far, the Turkish authorities are experiencing a problem with this agreement, but at the same time they have no direct evidence of their correctness. The Kars region has become the subject of not internal issues, but international ones. All other documents adopted at the end of the conference de alt with private state issues like the release of prisoners.
Ultimately, the main document concluded during the conference (the convention on the regimes of the straits) was already abolished in 1936. The new decisions were made during the consideration of the issue in the Swiss city of Montreux.
