Abstract:

The Lausanne peace treaty is an instrument of independence of the Republic of Turkey. It is also a very important diplomatic victory that Ismet Pasha won for his country. Ismet Pasha, who had no experience in the diplomatic field other than the Mudanya armistice negotiations, had criticized his own diplomacy as amateur during the session where the capitulations issue was discussed. Ismet Pasha said, " ... the difficulty I experienced in the matter of capitulation arose from the fact that I came from military service and became an amateur diplomat. The diplomats who wanted to take advantage of my position were putting forward their every offer and every claim in accordance with the procedure and principle of diplomacy. I am against these claims as an amateur diplomat and as a soldier of nature my mind is in the sickness of saying short and dry statements, I was being welcomed like this...” he said. However, as the Sessions continued, Ismet Pasha would learn the rules of diplomatic warfare and adopt a deliberative stance. The issue of capitulations was among the important issues that extended the conference. It was only when the conference convened for a second time that the British chief delegate, Lord Curzon, used the Mosul issue as a curtain. The capitulations, which included material, economic and judicial restrictions and kept the Ottoman Empire captive to the West for centuries, were made history by the Lausanne peace treaty.

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