Treaty of Batumi

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The Treaty of Batumi was signed on June 4, 1918 in Batumi between the Ottoman Empire and the three Transcaucasian states: the Democratic Republic of Armenia , the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan and the Democratic Republic of Georgia . The 14-article treaty was the first of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

background

On 5 December 1917, signed Russians and Ottomans the armistice of Erzincan , of their armed conflict in the Persian and the Caucasus Front of the First World War ended. On March 3, 1918, the armistice was replaced by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . This marked Russia's exit from the war. Between March 14 and April 1918, a peace conference between the Ottoman Empire and a delegation from the Transcaucasian Sejm was held in Trabzon. Enver Pasha offered to renounce all claims in the Caucasus in exchange for the recognition of the Ottoman reclamation of the eastern Anatolian provinces under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. On April 5, the leader of the Transcaucasian delegation, Akaki Chkhenkeli, accepted the Brest-Litovsk Treaty as the basis for further negotiations and sent a telegram to the rulers asking them to agree to this position. The prevailing mood in Tbilisi was completely different: the Armenians urged the republic to reject the draft and to declare a state of war with the Ottoman Empire. Hostilities increased again. Ottoman troops invaded the areas in the east and shortly afterwards reached the pre-war borders.

Conclusion of contract

On May 11th a new peace conference began in Batumi. The Ottomans now demanded Tbilisi as well as Alexandropol and Etschmiadzin . They also wanted a rail link built to connect Kars and Jolfa with Baku . The new Armenian state through which this corridor would lead should allow free passage. The Armenian and Georgian members of the delegation delayed a decision. From May 21, the Ottoman army again advanced into the former Russian Armenia. It has not been under the control of the Sultan since the 17th century. The conflict led to the battles of Sardarapat (May 21-29 ), Karakilisa (May 24-28 ) and Abaran (May 21-24 ).

The treaty was made while the 3rd Ottoman Army was seven kilometers from Yerevan and only ten kilometers from Echmiadzin. It had to be checked and confirmed by the Central Powers . Fifteen days after the conclusion of the contract, delegates from Armenia were asked to come to Constantinople . In the ceded areas, the majority of the 1.25 million inhabitants before the war were Armenians , more than 400,000 of them in the ceded part of Yerevan Province.

Signatory

On the Ottoman side:

On the Armenian side:

On the Azerbaijani side:

On the Georgian side:

  • Akaki Chkhenkeli, Foreign Minister

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charlotte Mathilde Louise Hille: State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus . Brill, Leiden 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-17901-1 , pp. 71 .
  2. ↑ Alexander Mikaberidze: Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World . ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2011, ISBN 978-1-59884-337-8 , pp. 201 .
  3. ↑ Tadeusz Swietochowski: Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community (=  Cambridge Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet studies . No. 42 ). Cambridge University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-521-26310-7 , pp. 119 , doi : 10.1017 / CBO9780511523762 .
  4. ↑ Ezel Kural Shaw: Reform, revolution and republic. The rise of modern Turkey (1808-1975) (=  History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey . Volume 2 ). Cambridge University Press, 1977, pp. 326 .
  5. ^ Richard G. Hovannisian: The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times . tape 2 : Foreign dominion to statehood. The fifteenth century to the twentieth century. . Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 1997, ISBN 0-333-61974-9 , pp. 292-293 .
  6. ^ Richard G. Hovannisian: The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times . tape 2 : Foreign dominion to statehood. The fifteenth century to the twentieth century. . Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 1997, ISBN 0-333-61974-9 , pp. 301 .