Note of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR to the Ambassador of Turkey to the RSFSR Ali Fuad.

 A source: USSR foreign policy documents. Volume 4. p. 176. Moscow. State Political Publishing House. 1960

June 13, 1921 No. 11/1354

Mr. Ambassador,

In response to your letter No. 518 of June 9, I have to state that the exact information received by our Government either directly or through our Representative in the Transcaucasian Republics, citizen Legrand, gives a completely different picture of the negotiations that took place between these Republics and Turkish delegation as they are presented in your aforementioned letter.

Not only did not one of the Transcaucasian Soviet Governments declare that only the Transcaucasian Federation, which still needs to be formed, could conclude an agreement with Turkey, but it was even agreed between these Governments and the Turkish delegation that separate agreements would be concluded between Turkey and three Transcaucasian Soviet Republics on condition that these three treaties will be worked out at a general conference of Turkey and these Republics.

The proposal made by the Turkish delegation to the Azerbaijan Republic and then to the Georgian Republic to conclude a separate agreement with each of them was by no means rejected by these two republics; only to it was added the condition that the treaty, which should follow from the Moscow treaty, would also be concluded between Turkey and the Armenian Soviet Republic. The two aforementioned Transcaucasian Republics demanded that the treaty to be signed with Turkey, as well as the treaty to be signed between Turkey and the Armenian Soviet Republic, be worked out at a general conference between Turkey and the three Soviet Republics. The Turkish delegation agreed with this requirement, but considered it necessary to first communicate directly with its Government and for this purpose left for Turkey. The Turkish delegation asked that the said general conference was held in Kars, to which it was pointed out that the main difficulty in satisfying this wish was the poor telegraphic connection between Kars and Tiflis. After the departure of the Turkish delegation, these negotiations were interrupted and did not resume. Comrade Mdivani, who recently returned from Tiflis, met in Trebizond Yusuf Kemal, who had not yet reached Angora, which explains the delay in convening the Turkish-Caucasian conference.

In the information that has come down to us, nothing indicated that some new obstacle had arisen to the convening of this conference and to the signing of these three treaties between Turkey and the Transcaucasian Soviet Republics. The governments of these latter fully agreed with the consequences for them from the Moscow Treaty, and are only waiting for the arrival of the Turkish delegation to conclude these agreements. Nothing in their policy towards Turkey is different from that of Russia. All the efforts of the Transcaucasian Soviet Governments are directed against certain counter-revolutionary elements, which, for example, in Zangezur, have not yet been completely suppressed. Any aggressive inclinations and designs with goals that go beyond the boundaries established in Moscow are completely alien to these Governments.

Unfortunately, it has been established that some reactionary elements with connections in Turkey continue intrigues and secret intrigues directed against the workers 'and peasants' power in the Transcaucasian Soviet Republics. I highly appreciate your statement that the reactionaries who acted against the interests of the Turkish popular masses have been punished. I allow myself to hope that the elements that are trying to sow discord between Turkey and its Soviet neighbors by sending false information to the Turkish Government about the position of these latter and about the alleged revolutionary intrigues supported from abroad and directed against Turkey will suffer similar punishment.

In the rather extensive correspondence that I had with Comrade Legrand and the Transcaucasian Soviet Governments, it was always clearly established that no obstacles were and could not be imposed on the population of the territories recognized by Turkey, who wanted to leave these territories along with their property.

I express once again the hope that an end will be put to the ill-treatment of the Russian inhabitants of the Kars region, which makes a painful impression on us and cannot but affect the close and so friendly relations established between Turkey and Russia.

Please accept, Mr. Ambassador, your sincere assurances of my highest consideration.

[Chicherin]