Relations Between The Ottoman Empire and The Republic of Armenia (1918-1920)

The developments at the end of World War I, paved the way forindependence to the Armenians under Russian sovereignty in the South Caucasus. In this process, Armenia, declared independence from the dissolution of the Transcaucasian Federation and living in border disputes with all its neighbors, needed to be recognized by the world s nations in order to provide legitimacy in the political arena. However, due to the initial policies for the South Caucasus the great powers refused to recognize Armenia. On top of that the representatives of Armenia applied to the Ottoman authorities and expressed their desire to make the treaty in order to solve the existing problems. On June 4, 1918 with a protocol was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Armenia, parties recognized each other s territorial integrity and existences. This official recognition by the Ottoman Empire provided a crucial opportunity for the existence of Armenia. This factor is the establishment of diplomatic relations between the parties and the initiation of the efforts made in order to solve the problems. Until the Mudros Armistice in relations between the two countries showed a positive development. But after the armistice, due to the interventions of the Allied powers, the reconciliation efforts between the parties left their places to the areas of conflict. In this context, our study aims to investigate the factors affecting the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Ottoman State.