The Treaty of Sevres or the Peace of Sevres is one of the agreements of the Versailles-Washington system. Its creation marked the end of the First World War. Consider briefly the Treaty of Sèvres.
Members
Sevres peace treaty was signed with Turkey by the Entente countries and the states that joined them. Among the latter were, in particular, Japan, Romania, Portugal, Armenia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Greece, Belgium, the Kingdom of Croats, Serbs and Slovenes, etc.
The signing of the Treaty of Sevres took place in 1920, on August 10, in the city of Sevres, in France. By this time, most of the Turkish territory was occupied by the troops of the Entente countries.
The Treaty of Sevres of 1920 belongs to the group of agreements that ended the First World War and formed the Versailles system. With his help, the division of Turkey was formalized, which was one of the key imperialist goals of the Entente states.
Preparation
The question of the partition of Turkey was repeatedly discussed at the Paris Peace Conference. However, it was intertwined with unresolved issues of reparations and territories in Western Europe. ChapterTurkey was considered in various combinations; the Entente countries tried to satisfy, first of all, their interests and for a long time did not find a compromise.
The draft of the Treaty of Sevres was developed only at the beginning of 1920 at a conference of ambassadors from the key allied powers. In April of the same year, France and England reached an agreement on the division of the Asian territories of Turkey. At the beginning of May 1920, representatives of the Sultan's government were informed about the project and published in the press.
Turkish resistance
In April 1920, the Grand National Assembly was formed in Ankara, which proclaimed itself the only legitimate power.
On April 26, the Assembly turned to the USSR with a request for help in the fight against the imperialist occupiers. After the publication of the draft agreement in Turkey, they said that they would never recognize it.
In response to the resistance of the allied countries, they decided to use military force to restore the Sultan's power throughout the state. By that time, the Entente troops had occupied not only the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire, but also a number of key regions of Turkey itself, including Constantinople, the Strait region, and Izmir.
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Council of the Allied countries, adopted in Boulogne, the Greek army, which received British weapons, with the support of the English fleet, launched an offensive against the national liberation forces of Turkey in June. The Sultan's government at this point in fact did not have power. It capitulatedin front of the allied forces and signed the agreement.
Territories lost by Turkey
According to the Treaty of Sevres, the Turkish government was losing power over the Kurds, Arabs, Armenians and representatives of other oppressed peoples. The Entente countries, in turn, sought to establish their power over these nations.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Sevres, the Ottoman Empire lost 3/4 of the territory. Eastern Thrace with Adrianople, the entire Gallipoli Peninsula, the European coast of the Dardanelles and Izmir were transferred to Greece. Turkey lost all the lands of the European part of its territory, with the exception of a narrow strip near Istanbul - formally this area remained with the Turkish government. At the same time, the Treaty of Sevres stated that if the state evaded compliance with the agreement, the allied countries have the right to change the conditions.
The Strait Zone nominally remained with Turkey. However, the government had to demilitarize it and provide access to this territory for a special "Commission of the Straits". She was supposed to monitor the observance of the Sevres peace treaty in this zone. The commission included delegates from different countries. The agreement stipulated the rights of representatives. Thus, US delegates could join the Commission from the moment they make the appropriate decision. Regarding Russia, Turkey itself and Bulgaria, the agreement contained a clause that representatives of these countries could become delegates from the moment the countries join the Leaguenations.
The Commission was endowed with broad powers and could exercise them independently of the local government. This structure had the right to organize a special police corps under the leadership of foreign officers, to use the armed forces in agreement with the allied powers. The Commission could have had its own budget and flag.
The articles of the Sevres Peace Treaty, which determined the fate of the straits, had a clear anti-Soviet content. Countries that intervened against the Soviet regime could now freely place their ships in the ports of the strait zone.
Definition of boundaries
According to the Sevres peace treaty, the Turkish government lost control over the territories of Syria, Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Palestine. Mandatory administration was established over them. Turkey was also deprived of possessions in the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, the government was required to recognize the kingdom of Hejaz.
The borders between Turkey and Armenia were to be established by an arbitration decision of the American president. Wilson and his advisers assumed that "Great Armenia" would become a state that would actually be controlled and dependent on the United States. America wanted to use the country as a springboard to fight Soviet Russia.
Under the agreement, separated from Turkey and Kurdistan. An Anglo-Franco-Italian commission was supposed to determine the borders between the countries. After that, the question of the autonomy of Kurdistan was transferred to the Council of the League of Nations for resolution. If he recognizes the population as "capable ofindependence", it will receive autonomy.
According to the agreement, Turkey renounced its rights in Egypt, recognized the protectorate over it, established back in 1918. She lost her rights in relation to Sudan, recognized the accession of Cyprus to Britain, proclaimed back in 1914, and also French protectorate over Tunisia and Morocco. The privileges that the Sultan had in Libya were annulled. Turkey's rights to the islands in the Aegean Sea passed to Italy.
In fact, the Sultan's state has lost sovereignty. Under a special decree, the capitulation regime was restored, which also applied to allied countries that did not use it before the First World War.
Financial management
A special commission was formed to control the monetary system of Turkey. It included representatives of Britain, France, Italy, as well as the Turkish government itself with an advisory vote.
The Commission received all the resources of the country, except for income given or conceded as guarantee payments on the Ottoman debt. This structure was free to take whatever measures it deemed most appropriate to preserve and increase Turkey's financial resources. The commission gained complete control over the economy of the state. Without her approval, the Turkish parliament could not discuss the budget. Changes in the financial plan could only be made with the approval of the Commission.
The section of the treaty concerning the economic status of Turkey included articles according to which the country recognizedcanceled agreements, conventions, treaties that were concluded before the entry into force of the Treaty of Sèvres with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary or Germany, as well as with Russia or "any government or state whose territory was previously part of Russia".
Protection of Minorities
It was mentioned in part 6 of the contract. Its provisions provided that the main allied countries, in agreement with the Council of the League, would determine the measures necessary to ensure the guarantees of the implementation of these decrees. Turkey, in turn, under the agreement, agreed in advance to all decisions that would be made on this issue.
Military system
It was mentioned in part 5 of the Sevres agreement. The articles recorded the complete demobilization of the Turkish armed forces. The size of the army could not exceed 50,000 officers and soldiers, including 35,000 gendarmes.
Turkish warships were transferred to key allied states, with the exception of seven patrol vessels and five destroyers, which could be used by the Turkish government for administrative purposes.
Reaction of the population
The Treaty of Sevres is considered the most predatory and enslaving of all the international agreements of the Versailles-Washington system. Its signing caused general indignation of the Turkish population. The Ankara government categorically rejected the provisions of the treaty, but the Sultan still did not dare to ratify it.
In the struggle to cancel the agreement, the government relied onanti-imperialist sentiments and mass movements in the country, support for the sovereignty and integrity of the state by Soviet Russia, for the sympathy of the oppressed eastern peoples.
The Turkish government managed to defeat the intervention of England and Greece. In addition, it took advantage of the split that began immediately after the signing of the treaty between the allied states that were part of the Entente. Ultimately, the Treaty of Sevres was canceled at the Lausanne Conference.
Conclusion
The imperialist goals of the allied countries were not actually achieved. The Turkish government and the entire population as a whole actively resisted the division of territories. Of course, no country wants to lose its sovereignty.
The treaty, in fact, destroyed Turkey as an independent state, which was unacceptable for a country with a long history.
It is worth noting that Russia's participation in the process was kept to a minimum. To a greater extent, this was due to the unwillingness of the Entente to cooperate with the Soviet government, the desire to gain access to the country's borders. The allied countries did not see Soviet Russia as a partner, on the contrary, they considered it a competitor that needed to be eliminated.
