ISSN 1829-4618

THE WAR OF TURKEY AGAINST ARMENIA: ANALYZING THE TURKISH DOCUMENTS (NOVEMBER 1920)

By: Ruben Safrastyan, Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA

The November of 1920 was fateful for the Republic of Armenia. The Turkish army captured Kars on 30 October, predetermining the military defeat of the Armenian side in the Armenian-Turkish war. The gravity of the struggle was transferred into the diplomatic sphere. A treaty was sighned with Turkey on December 2 in Alexandrapol after intensive and multilateral negotiations of about one month, which ratified the results of both the military and diplomatic defeat of Armenia.
The native historical science, dragging new archival and other documentary materials of a considerable quantity, laid a serious basis for comprehensive and impartial study of this tragic page of our modern history.
Nevertheless, the Turkish documents remain for the most part still unreachable to us. The present publication is the first step on the way to filling this gap.
A number of important documents dated with November 1920 are presented in translation, annotated in detail and analyzed as well. These are fragments of encrypted writing between the heads of the Turkish state and military highest organs, the Head of General Staff of the Armed Forces and then the commander of the Western front Ismet (Inonu), acting Foreign Minister Ahmed Muhtar (Mollahoğlu) and the commander of the Eastern front, Kâzim Karabekir, as well as documents, reflecting the guiding role of Mustafa Kemal, the Speaker of the Turkish National Grand Assembly (TBMM). The secret letters of the two conflicting heads of the Turkish Communist Party (TCP) operating in Baku, addressed to Kemal and Karabekir are involved as well. In fact, the authors of the said letters were acting as agents of nationalistic forces.

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