Encyclopedia >> Encyclopedia of Armenian History >> London Conference 1921

 CONFERENCE OF LONDON took place in February 21 - March 14, in 1921. A number of Entente states (Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Greece) and the defeated states of World War I ,Germany and Turkey, participated in it. Among other issues discussed in Conference of London (Greek-Turkish war termination, etc.) France and Italy suggested to review Sèvres Peace Treaty of 1920. Taking advantage of sharpened imperialist contradictions between the Entente Powers, Turkish joint Delegation (Resit Pasha, from Constantinople and Bekir Sami Bey, from Ankara government) demanded to restore pre-war borders (excluding Arab countries, including Kars province and the other Armenian territories by the Treaty of Alexandropol in 1920).

Ignoring the military-political changes occurring in Near East after signing the Treaty of Sèvres (Kemalist successful wars against Republic of Armenia and Greece, the Soviet-Turkish rapprochement, negotiations of separate Entente countries with Ankara etc.), two Armenian delegations headed by A. Aharonian and Boghos Nubar had unsuccessfully tried to convince the Entente powers to implement the articles on Western Armenia of Treaty of Sevres, and to gain "administrative autonomy" for the Armenian Cilicia which was in the French sphere of influence of.

Turkish delegation, that entered into a secret deal with the Anglo-French representatives (the Franco-Turkish agreement on March 9, 1921, mutual concessions, etc.) and rejected all the claims of the Armenians, and only the vague formulation of granting "national home" on the borders of Eastern provinces was satisfied in the London Conference, but it was also rejected by the Turkish delegation. Thus, the idea of "free and independent" state of Treaty of Sevres was replaced by "national home", which was going to be removed from the Treaty of Lausanne soon (See the Conference of Lausanne 1922-23). 

 

Source- Encyclopedia "The Armenian Question", Yerevan, 1996. 

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