The Treaty of Sèvres or the Sèvres Peace is one of the agreements of the Versailles-Washington system. Its creation marked the end of the First World War. Let us consider briefly the Sevres Peace Treaty .
Members
The 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 Sevres Peace Treaty took place in 1920, on August 10, in the city of Sevres, in France. At this point, most of the Turkish territory was occupied by troops of the Entente.
The Sevres Peace Treaty of 1920 belongs to the group of agreements that completed the First World War and formed the Versailles System. With its help, the division of Turkey was officially framed, which was one of the key imperialist goals of the Entente states.
Training
The issue regarding the partition of Turkey was repeatedly discussed at the Paris Peace Conference. However, he intertwined with unresolved issues of reparations and territories of Western Europe. The section of Turkey was considered in various combinations; Entente countries tried to satisfy, first of all, their interests and for a long time did not find a compromise.
The draft Sevres Peace Treaty was developed only at the beginning of 1920 at a conference of ambassadors from key allied powers. In April of the same year, France and England reached an agreement on the division of the Asian territories of Turkey. In early May 1920, the project was reported to representatives of the Sultan government and published in print.
Resistance of Turkey
In April 1920, the Great National Assembly was formed in Ankara, which proclaimed itself the only legitimate authority.
On April 26, the Assembly turned to the USSR with a request for help in the struggle against imperialist occupiers. After the publication of the draft agreement, Turkey announced that they would never recognize it.
In response to resistance, the Allied countries decided to use military force to restore Sultan power throughout the state. By that time, the Entente troops occupied not only the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire, but also a number of key areas directly of Turkey, including Constantinople, the area of the Straits, and Izmir.
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Council of the Allied countries, adopted in Boulogne, the Greek army, which received the English weapons, with the support of the British fleet in June launched an attack on the national liberation forces of Turkey. The Sultan government did not actually have power at this point. It capitulated to the Allied forces and signed an agreement.
Territories lost by Turkey
According to the Sevres Peace Treaty, the Turkish government lost power over the Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, and representatives of other oppressed peoples. 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 its 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 section remained with the Turkish government. At the same time, the Sevres Peace Treaty stated that if the state avoids compliance with the agreement, the union countries have the right to change the conditions.
The straits zone nominally remained in Turkey. However, the government was supposed to demilitarize it and provide access to the territory of the special "Commission of the Straits." She had to monitor compliance with the Sevres Peace Treaty in this zone. The commission included delegates from different countries. The agreement specified the rights of representatives. So, the US delegates could join the Commission from the moment they decide. Regarding Russia, Turkey and Bulgaria itself, the agreement contained a clause that the representatives of these countries can become delegates from the moment the countries join the League of Nations.
The commission was vested with broad powers and could exercise them independently of the local government. This structure was entitled 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 its own budget and flag.
Articles of the Sevres Peace Treaty , determining the fate of the straits, had a clear anti-Soviet content. Countries that intervened against the Soviet regime could now freely deploy their ships in the ports of the straits.
Boundary definition
Under the Sevres Peace Treaty , the Turkish government lost control of the territories of Syria, Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Palestine. Mandatory management was established above them. Turkey and possessions on the Arabian Peninsula were deprived. In addition, the government was required to recognize the kingdom of Hijaz.
The borders between Turkey and Armenia were to be established by an arbitration decision of the American president. Wilson and his advisers suggested that "Greater Armenia" would become a state, in fact controlled and dependent on the United States. America wanted to use the country as a bridgehead to fight Soviet Russia.
According to the agreement, separated from Turkey and Kurdistan. The Anglo-Franco-Italian Commission was to determine the borders between the countries. After that, the question of the autonomy of Kurdistan was referred for resolution to the Council of the League of Nations. If he recognizes the population as “capable of independence,” it will gain autonomy.
According to the agreement, Turkey renounced its rights in Egypt, recognized the protectorate over it, established in 1918. It also lost its rights in relation to Sudan, recognized the accession of Cyprus to Britain, proclaimed back in 1914, as well as the protectorate of France over Tunisia and Morocco. The privileges that the Sultan had in Libya were canceled. Turkey's rights to the islands in the Aegean passed to Italy.
In fact, the Sultan state has lost sovereignty. According to a special decree, the surrender regime was restored, which extended to allied countries that did not use it before the First World War.
Financial management
A special commission was formed to control the Turkish monetary system. It included representatives of Britain, France, Italy, as well as the Turkish government itself with an advisory voice.
The commission received all the country's resources, except for income given or assigned as guarantee payments for the Ottoman debt. This structure was entitled to take any measures that it considered most suitable for maintaining and increasing Turkey’s financial resources. The commission gained full control over the state economy. Without her approval, the Turkish parliament could not discuss the budget. A change in the financial plan could only be carried out with the approval of the Commission.
The section of the agreement concerning the economic status of Turkey included articles according to which the country recognized the agreements, conventions, and agreements that were concluded before the entry into force of the Sevres Peace with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary or Germany, as well as with Russia or “any a government or a state whose territory was previously part of Russia. "
Minority protection
It was mentioned in part 6 of the contract. Its provisions stipulated that the main allied countries, in agreement with the League Council, would determine the measures necessary to ensure guarantees for the implementation of these decisions. Turkey, in turn, under the agreement, agreed in advance on all decisions that will be taken 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 thousand officers and soldiers, including 35 thousand gendarmes.
Turkish warships were handed over 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.
Population reaction
The Treaty of Sèvres is considered the most predatory and enslaving of all the international agreements of the Versailles-Washington system. Its signing caused widespread indignation of the Turkish population. The government of Ankara 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 on anti-imperialist sentiments and mass movements in the country, support for the sovereignty and integrity of the state on the part of Soviet Russia, and 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 Sèvres 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 minimized. 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 Union countries did not see a partner in Soviet Russia, on the contrary, they considered it a competitor, which must be eliminated.