ArmInfo. The Treaty of Sevres in its essence was a peace treaty and with this regard it really could have solved fundamentally one of the thorniest for our region problems - the Armenian issue. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian stated this in an interview with the reputable Syrian newspaper Al-Azmenah, referring to the execution of the 100th anniversary of the Sevres Treaty.
He recalled that:' "The Treaty of Sevres was preceded by the first conference, which took place in February-March 1920 in London where a political decision was adopted that one, unified Armenian state must be created. At the same time, the Republic of Armenia, which was de facto recognized on January 19, 1920 at the Paris Conference, was accepted as its axle and some territories of Western Armenian under the Ottoman rule should had been united with it. By the Treaty of Sevres, Turkey was to recognize Armenia as a free and independent state. Turkey and Armenia agreed to leave demarcation of the borders of the two countries in Erzrum, Trabzon, Van, and Bitlis provinces (vilayets) to the decision made by the United States (the arbitral award of President Woodrow Wilson which on November 22 will also mark its 100th anniversary) and accept his decision immediately and all other proposals - to provide Armenia with an access to the see and demilitarization of all Ottoman territories adjacent to the mentioned border line."
At the same time, he stated that: "the Treaty of Sevres was not fully ratified (which means it remains unperfected and it is true that when it comes to Armenia its decisions were not implemented because the international political situation had changed but, at the same time, it was never denounced either."
Sarkissian stressed that: "The Treaty of Sevres is a legal, interstate agreement which is de facto still in force because this document became the base for other documents, which derived from it, for determining the status of a number of Middle East countries after WWI or more recently, among them Syria (currently Syria- Lebanon) and Mesopotamia (currently Iraq-Kuwait), Palestine (currently Israel and Palestinian authority), Hejazi (currently Saudi Arabia), Egypt, Sudan, Cyprus, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya. long with all this, the Treaty of Sevres could have promoted the resolution of the Armenian Issue and unification of the Armenian nation on its historical lands.
It could have partly mitigated the losses inflicted on the Armenian people by the Genocide of 1915 and thus create conditions for the regulations of the relations between Armenia and Turkey and establishment of a lasting peace among the peoples of our region. But in September 1920, the aggression unleashed by the Kemalists against the Republic of Armenia ended in the dissolution of the Armenian independent statehood and sovietization of Armenia.
Thus, the centuries-long struggle of the Armenian people for uniting in one state entity the separated parts of Armenia was unsuccessful. But the Republic of Armenia and Armenian nation spread all over the world remain the inheritors and masters of our millennia-long history and civilization. No matter what was done or will be done, no matter how the undeniable facts are being denied, no matter how much the material monuments and Armenian traces on the territory of historical Armenia are being destructed, it is impossible to annihilate the memory of the Armenian people. to achieve a fair resolution of the
Armenian issue." He noted that: "The Treaty of Sevres even today remains an essential document for the right of the Armenian people."
The President of Armenia also disagreed with the views that, Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 negated the Treaty of Sevres.
"The Treaty of Lausanne does not contain such an annulment; moreover, it does not contain any reference to the Treaty of Sevres. The Republic of Armenia did not sign the Treaty of Lausanne, thus we are not a party of the Treaty of Lausanne. Thus, it implies no obligation for the Republic of Armenia. In this case, the international Res inter alios acta principle (a thing done between others does not harm or benefit others). The Treaty of Sevres and the Treaty of Lausanne are two different legal documents", stated the head of Armenia.
The Sevres Peace Treaty, the Sevres Peace, is one of the treaties of the Versailles-Washington system, the creation of which marked the end of the First World War. Signed on August 10, 1920 in the city of Sevres (France) by the Entente countries and the states that joined them (Italy, Japan, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Hijaz, Czechoslovakia and Armenia), on the one hand , and the government of the Ottoman Empire on the other. By the time the treaty was signed, a significant part of Turkey had already been occupied by the troops of the Entente powers. The Treaty of Sevres never actually entered into force, and de jure ceased to operate after the revision of its terms at the Lausanne Conference of 1923 and the signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty. With the Treaty of Sevres, Turkey recognized Armenia as a "free and independent state".
Turkey and Armenia agreed to submit to US President Woodrow Wilson on arbitration of borders within the Van, Bitlis, Erzurum and Trebizond governorates and accept his terms regarding Armenia's access to the Black Sea (via Batum). It was planned to build a railway through the territory of Georgia to Batum, in addition, Armenia was provided with a guarantee of transit privileges and the lease of a part of the Batumi port. Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan had to establish their mutual borders through direct negotiations between these states, and if it was impossible to reach an agreement, through the mediation of the allied powers.
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