The Lausanne Peace Treaty 101 years old
As a result of World War I, the Treaty was signed on 24 July 1923 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and was attended by representatives of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) and representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Belgium and Yugoslavia.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly Government was represented by a delegation headed by İsmet İnönü and composed of Dr. Rıza Nur Bey and Hasan Saka. The negotiations, which started on November 20, 1922, resumed on April 23, 1923 after being interrupted due to reasons such as the Straits problem, capitulations, Mosul-Kirkük and the debts of the Ottoman Empire.
According to the agreement reached at the end of the negotiations, the Syrian border was accepted as it was determined by the Ankara Treaty signed on October 20, 1921. It was decided that the Iraqi border would be determined by a future negotiation between the UK and the Turkish Grand National Assembly. While the Greek border was accepted as it was in the Mudanya Treaty, Greece left Karaağaç to Türkiye as war indemnity.
With the Treaty of Lausanne, the Soviet border remained as it was determined in the Treaties of Gyumri, Moscow and Kars, and the establishment of an Armenian State in Eastern Anatolia was abandoned. While the capitulations were definitively abolished with the Treaty of Lausanne, Bozcaada and Gökçeada were left to Turkey. The Dodecanese Islands, which had been left to the Italians, were left to Greece after Italy withdrew after World War II. All minorities were accepted as Turkish citizens According to the Treaty, foreign schools within the borders of the Turkish State were required to comply with Turkish laws and the education of the schools was regulated by the Turkish State. While it was accepted that the Greek Patriarchate of Fener would remain in Turkey on the condition that it would not establish relations with foreign churches, the privileges granted to minorities were abolished and all minorities were accepted as Turkish citizens.
With the agreement, it was decided to exchange the population between the two countries by sending the Greeks in other provinces, except for the Greeks in Istanbul, to Greece and the Turks in other provinces, except for Western Thrace, to Turkey. With the Montreux Straits Convention signed on July 20, 1936, the issue of the Straits, one of the most emphasized topics in Lausanne, was resolved.
The Treaty consists of 143 articles. The preamble of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, which consists of 143 articles, a preamble and 4 chapters, includes the principle of respecting the sovereignty and independence of states. The Lausanne Peace Treaty was signed by the First Grand National Assembly of Turkey and ratified by the Second Grand National Assembly of Turkey. With the Treaty, the independence of the Republic of Turkey and the Misakımilli were officially recognized and accepted by the Entente Powers, and the Treaty of Sèvres became invalid. The borders of the country, except for the Iraqi border, were determined and World War I ended for Turkey.
In his description of the Lausanne Peace Treaty in his Nutuk, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said, "It is a document expressing the destruction of an assassination which had been prepared against the Turkish nation for centuries and which was thought to have been completed with the Treaty of Sèvres." The certified copy of the Treaty is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The original signed copy of the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed in a single copy by the parties, is kept by France as the "depositary country". The copies in the other signatory countries are certified copies of the treaty. One of the certified copies is in the Archives of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The treaty, the original of which is kept in the Archives Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is kept open to the access of citizens and researchers on the website of the Ministry. AA
