Азербайджано-турецкая граница

THE TURKISH-SOVIET ARMENIAN/REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA BORDER, 1921-PRESENT
The main articles of the Moscow and Kars (1921) treaties dealt specifically with the regions of Surmalu, Sharur and Batum. In exchange for returning part of Adjaria with its port of Batum to the Georgian SSR, Turkey was awarded the district of Surmalu (already occupied by Turkish forces), which contained Greater Ararat. In addition, Turkey returned the occupied parts of the Alexandropol district (with its rail connection to Tiflis) to Soviet Armenia, and removed its troops from Sharur-Nakhichevan, with the provision that it be made into an autonomous region under the jurisdiction of Soviet Azerbaijan and not be transferred to another party (i.e, Soviet Armenia) without the consent of Turkey (see map 2). Having annexed Surmalu and being assured that Sharur would remain a part of Nakhichevan, Turkey thus gained the strip, which connected it to Sharur in Azeri-controlled Nakhichevan. A new international border was drawn between the USSR and Turkey, which remained in effect throughout the Soviet period and continues to be the present-day international border separating Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia. The astute Turkish diplomats assured the isolation of Armenia and, as noted, gained access to Azerbaijani Nakhichevan (see map 2). They had great hopes that the region of Zangezur would also become part of Azerbaijan, which would then give them an open land route to Baku. Following an uprising and major protests from Armenians, Moscow gave Zangezur to Armenia and designated the Armenian-populated regions of Nagorno-Karabakh as an autonomous enclave within Azerbaijan (see map 2). Ironically, several weeks prior to the Treaty of Moscow, the USSR, on February 21, 1921, signed a treaty of friendship with Iran. Although this treaty repudiated certain articles of the Turkmanchay treaty, it did not address the territorial losses of Iran in 1828. The Qajar dynasty was on its deathbed, and Iran had more pressing issues on its borders with the Soviet Union

THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER, 1918—1921
Following the collapse of the Tsarist regime, the Bolsheviks, by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 3, 1918), gave up the entire territory Russia had gained after the 1877-78 Russo-Ottoman War (i.e. Kars, Ardahan, Olti, Kagizman, Batum) to the Turks. By May of that year, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia had formed independent republics. The pre-1878 Russo-Ottoman border now separated Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia. The Turks immediately invaded Armenia and by the beginning of June of that year the Armenian Republic was forced to sign the Treaty of Batum (June 4, 1918), which resulted in the loss of half its former territory, including Nakhichevan, Sharur, Surmalu, and half of the Eǰmiacin and Alexandropol districts to the Turks. The end of the World War (November 1918) and the defeat of the Central Powers forced the Turks to move back to their 1914 borders and enabled Armenia not only to regain its lost territory, but to also move into the Kars Province (see map 2) (Bournoutian 2012: 311—312).The Treaty of Sèvres (August 10, 1920) and President Wilson’s boundary for a large Armenian state, gave hope to the Armenian Republic. Ten days later, however, the Turks and the Bolsheviks made an agreement in Moscow repudiating all former treaties with the Tsarist government and refusing to accept the Sèvres treaty. Having been assured of Soviet noninterference and relying on European inaction, the Turks attacked Armenia in late September. By mid-November, the Turks had recaptured all the territory they had controlled prior to their withdrawal in November 1918. The collapse of the short-lived Armenian Republic and Sovietisation of Armenia (December 2, 1920), once again altered the borders between Turkey and Armenia. By the Treaty of Moscow (March 16, 1921), Russia and Turkey delineated the present-day borders, which were then accepted by Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the Treaty of Kars in October 13, 1921 (see map 2) (ibid.: 312—313).5 As noted, Iranian historians argue that the Soviet Union had no right to hand the strip of land between the Upper Kara-Su and the Arax River (see B in map 2) to the Turks in the treaties of Moscow and Kars. In their opinion, the narrow corridor connecting Turkey to Nakhichevan belonged to Iran (Faraǰī 2012: 32). It is important to note that a number of 18th-century maps include the strip as being part of the governorship of Maku and not part of the Surmalu district of Yerevan. As will be seen, Iran tried to regain the strip during its negotiations for a final border with Turkey