The Position of the Republic of Armenia on the Zangezur Issue (June-November, 1918)
The Position of the Republic of Armenia on the Zangezur Issue
(June-November, 1918)
Ghulyan Yurik
Summary
Key words: Batumi, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Zangezur, Andranik, border issues
The Treaty of Batum, signed between Ottoman Turkey and the Republic of Armenia, did not mention Zangezur. As a result, Azerbaijan’s later territorial claims to Zangezur had no foundation in international law. Initially, the government of the independent Republic of Armenia hesitated to officially recognize Karabakh and Zangezur as legal parts of its territory. Nevertheless, these regions were among its most urgent and important concerns. Historically and ethnographically, Zangezur was an Armenian-inhabited region. Despite its weak position, the Armenian government sought every possible opportunity and platform to assert its rights to these territories and to incorporate them into the Armenian homeland. Turkey, for its part, strongly supported Azerbaijan on territorial matters and firmly opposed the transfer of Karabakh and Zangezur to Armenia. Bound by the conditions of the Treaty of Batum, the Republic of Armenia was not in a position to openly claim Zangezur as its territory or to intervene actively. Its cautious, passive stance was aimed at avoiding further conflict with Turkey. Because Armenia and Azerbaijan held completely opposing views on the border issue, no official borders between the two states were established from June to November 1918, and no agreements were signed during this period. The tense situation surrounding Karabakh and Zangezur persisted until the end of World War I.