This document consists of a covering letter addressed to the
President of the Supreme Council, followed by the actual decision,
which comprises a technical description of the boundary and which is
accompanied by two maps, one showing the boundary in general and one
in sections showing the boundary in detail.31 The decision
and the smaller general map are signed and authenticated. The
sectional map, on the scale of 1:200,000, is included for the
convenience of the Boundary Commission.
You are instructed to transmit these enclosures to the Secretariat
General of the Peace Conference, referring to the note of the
Secretariat General dated October 18, 1920,32
stating that the authenticated copy of the Treaty of Sevres
forwarded therewith was received by the President, and requesting
that, in accordance with the desire of the President and in
fulfilment of the obligation first accepted by him on May 17th last
and confirmed by Article 89 of the Treaty of Sèvres, the decision
and maps in question be conveyed to the President of the Supreme
Council of the Allied Powers.
[Enclosure 1]
President Wilson to the President of
the Supreme Council of the Allied
Powers
Mr. President: By action of the Supreme
Council taken on April 26th of this year an invitation was
tendered to me to arbitrate the question of the boundaries
between Turkey and the new state of Armenia. Representatives of
the powers signatory on August 10th of this year to the Treaty
of Sevres have acquiesced in conferring this honor upon me and
have signified their intention of accepting the frontiers which
are to be determined by my decision, as well as any stipulations
which I may prescribe as to access for Armenia to the sea and
any arrangements for the demilitarization of Turkish territory
lying along the frontier thus established. According to the
terms of the arbitral reference set forth in Part III, Section
6, Article 89, of the Treaty of Sevres, the scope of the
arbitral competence assigned to me is clearly limited to the
determination of the frontiers of Turkey and Armenia in the
Vilayets of Erzerum, Trebizond, Van
[Page 791]
and Bitlis. With full consciousness of the
responsibility placed upon me by your request, I have approached
this difficult task with eagerness to serve the best interests
of the Armenian people as well as the remaining inhabitants, of
whatever race or religious belief they may be, in this stricken
country, attempting to exercise also the strictest possible
justice toward the populations, whether Turkish, Kurdish, Greek
or Armenian, living in the adjacent areas.
In approaching this problem it was obvious that the existing
ethnic and religious distribution of the populations in the four
vilayets could not, as in other parts of the world, be regarded
as the guiding element of the decision. The ethnic
consideration, in the case of a population originally so
complexly intermingled, is further beclouded by the terrible
results of the massacres and deportations of Armenians and
Greeks, and by the dreadful losses also suffered by the Moslem
inhabitants through refugee movements and the scourge of typhus
and other diseases. The limitation of the arbitral assignment to
the four vilayets named in Article 89 of the Treaty made it seem
a duty and an obligation that as large an area within these
vilayets be granted to the Armenian state as could be done,
while meeting the basic requirements of an adequate natural
frontier and of geographic and economic unity for the new state.
It was essential to keep in mind that the new state of Armenia,
including as it will a large section of the former Armenian
provinces of Transcaucasian Russia, will at the outset have a
population about equally divided between Moslem and Christian
elements and of diverse racial and tribal relationship. The
citizenship of the Armenian Republic will, by the tests of
language and religion, be composed of Turks, Kurds, Greeks,
Kizilbashis, Lazes and others, as well as Armenians. The
conflicting territorial desires of Armenians, Turks, Kurds and
Greeks along the boundaries assigned to my arbitral decision
could not always be harmonized. In such cases it was my belief
that consideration of a healthy economic life for the future
state of Armenia should be decisive. Where, however, the
requirements of a correct geographic boundary permitted, all
mountain and valley districts along the border which were
predominantly Kurdish or Turkish have been left to Turkey rather
than assigned to Armenia, unless trade relations with definite
market towns threw them necessarily into the Armenian state.
Wherever information upon tribal relations and seasonal
migrations was obtainable, the attempt was made to respect the
integrity of tribal groupings and nomad pastoral movements.
From the Persian border southwest of the town of Kotur the
boundary line of Armenia is determined by a rugged natural
barrier of great height, extending south of Lake Van and lying
south-west
[Page 792]
of the
Armenian cities of Bitlis and Mush. This boundary line leaves as
a part of the Turkish state the entire Sandjak of Hakkiari, or
about one-half of the Vilayet of Van, and almost the entire
Sandjak of Sairt. The sound physiographic reason which seemed to
justify this decision was further strengthened by the
ethnographic consideration that Hakkiari and Sairt are
predominantly Kurdish in population and economic relations. It
did not seem to the best interest of the Armenian state to
include in it the upper valley of the Great Zab River, largely
Kurdish and Nestorian Christian in population and an essential
element of the great Tigris river irrigation system of Turkish
Kurdistan and Mesopotamia. The control of these headwaters
should be kept, wherever possible, within the domain of the two
interested states, Turkey and Mesopotamia. For these reasons the
Armenian claim upon the upper valley of the Great Zab could not
be satisfied.
The boundary upon the west from Bitlis and Mush northward to the
vicinity of Erzingan lies well within Bitlis and Erzerum
vilayets. It follows a natural geographic barrier, which
furnishes Armenia with perfect security and leaves to the
Turkish state an area which is strongly Kurdish. Armenian
villages and village nuclei in this section, such as Kighi and
Temran, necessarily remain Turkish because of the strong
commercial and church ties which connect them with Kharput
rather [than?] with any Armenian market and religious centers
which lie within Bitlis or Erzerum vilayets. This decision
seemed an unavoidable consequence of the inclusion of the city
and district of Kharput in the Turkish state as determined by
Article 27 II (4) and Article 89 of the Treaty of Sèvres.
From the northern border of the Dersim the nature and direction
of the frontier decision was primarily dependent upon the vital
question of supplying an adequate access to the sea for the
state of Armenia. Upon the correct solution of this problem
depends, in my judgment, the future economic well-being of the
entire population, Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, Armenian, or Yezidi,
in those portions of the Vilayets of Erzerum, Bitlis and Van
which will lie within the state of Armenia. I was not unmindful
of the desire of the Pontic Greeks, submitted to me in a
memorandum similar, no doubt, in argument and content to that
presented to the Supreme Council last March at its London
Conference, that the unity of the coastal area of the Black Sea
inhabited by them be preserved and that arrangements be made for
an autonomous administration for the region stretching from Riza
to a point west of Sinope. The arbitral jurisdiction assigned to
me by Article 89 of the Treaty of Sèvres does not include the
possibility of decision or recommendation by me upon the
question of their desire for independence, or
[Page 793]
failing that, for autonomy. Nor
does it include the right to deal with the littoral of the
independent Sandjak of Djanik or of the Vilayet of Kastamuni
into which extends the region of the unity and autonomy desired
by the Pontic Greeks.
Three possible courses lay open to me: to so delimit the boundary
that the whole of Trebizond Vilayet would lie within Turkey, to
grant it in its entirety to Armenia, or to grant a part of it to
Armenia and leave the remainder to Turkey. The majority of the
population of Trebizond Vilayet is incontestably Moslem and the
Armenian element, according to all pre-war estimates, was
undeniably inferior numerically to the Greek portion of the
Christian minority. Against a decision so clearly indicated on
ethnographic grounds weighed heavily the future of Armenia. I
could only regard the question in the light of the needs of a
new political entity, Armenia, with mingled Moslem and Christian
populations, rather than as a question of the future of the
Armenians alone. It has been and is now increasingly my
conviction that the arrangements providing for Armenia’s access
to the sea must be such as to offer every possibility for the
development of this state as one capable of reassuming and
maintaining that useful role in the commerce of the world which
its geographic position, athwart a great historic trade route,
assigned to it in the past. The civilization and the happiness
of its mingled population will largely depend upon the building
of railways and the increased accessibility of the hinterland of
the three vilayets to European trade and cultural
influences.
Eastward from the port of Trebizond along the coast of Lazistan
no adequate harbor facilities are to be found and the rugged
character of the Pontic range separating Lazistan Sandjak from
the Vilayet of Erzerum is such as to isolate the hinterland from
the coast so far as practicable railway construction is
concerned. The existing caravan route from Persia across the
plains of Bayazid and Erzerum, which passes through the towns of
Baiburt and Gumush-khana and debouches upon the Black Sea at
Trebizond, has behind it a long record of persistent
usefulness.
These were the considerations which have forced me to revert to
my original conviction that the town and harbor of Trebizond
must become an integral part of Armenia. Because of the still
greater adaptability of the route of the Karshut valley, ending
at the town of Tireboli, for successful railway construction and
operation I have deemed it also essential to include this valley
in Armenia, with enough territory lying west of it to insure its
adequate protection. I am not unaware that the leaders of the
Armenian delegations have expressed their willingness to
renounce claim upon that portion of Trebizond Vilayet lying west
of Surmena. Commendable
[Page 794]
as is their desire to avoid the assumption of authority over
a territory so predominantly Moslem, I am confident that, in
acquiescing in their eagerness to do justice to the Turks and
Greeks in Trebizond I should be doing an irreparable injury to
the future of the land of Armenia and its entire population, of
which they will be a part.
It was upon such a basis, Mr. President, that the boundaries were
so drawn as to follow mountain ridges west of the city of
Erzingan to the Pontic range and thence to the Black Sea, in
such a way as to include in Armenia the indentation called
Zephyr Bay. The decision to leave to Turkey the harbor towns and
hinterland of Kerasun and Ordu in Trebizond Sandjak was dictated
by the fact that the population of this region is strongly
Moslem and Turkish and that these towns are the outlets for the
easternmost sections of the Turkish vilayet of Sivas. The parts
of Erzerum and Trebizond Vilayets which, by reason of this
delimitation, remain Turkish rather than become Armenian
comprise approximately 12,120 square kilometers.
In the matter of the demilitarization of Turkish territory
adjacent to the Armenian border as it has been broadly described
above, it seemed both impracticable and unnecessary to establish
a demilitarized zone which would require elaborate prescriptions
and complex agencies for their execution. Fortunately, Article
177 of the Treaty of Sevres prescribes the disarming of all
existing forts throughout Turkey. Articles 159 and 196–200
provide in addition agencies entirely adequate to meet all the
dangers of disorder which may arise along the borders, the
former by the requirement that a proportion of the officers of
the gendarmerie shall be supplied by the various Allied or
neutral Powers, the latter by the establishment of a Military
Inter-Allied Commission of Control and Organization. In these
circumstances the only additional prescriptions which seemed
necessary and advisable were that the military Inter-Allied
Commission of Control and Organization should, in conformity
with the powers bestowed upon it by Article 200 of the Treaty,
select the superior officers of the gendarmerie to be stationed
in the vilayets of Turkey lying contiguous to the frontiers of
Armenia solely from those officers who will be detailed by the
Allied or neutral Powers in accordance with Article 159 of the
Treaty; and that these officers, under the supervision of the
Military Inter-Allied Commission of Organization and Control,
should be especially charged with the duty of preventing
military preparations directed against the Armenian
frontier.
It is my confident expectation that the Armenian refugees and
their leaders, in the period of their return into the territory
thus assigned to them, will by refraining from any and all form
of
[Page 795]
reprisals give to
the world an example of that high moral courage which must
always be the foundation of national strength. The world expects
of them that they give every encouragement and help within their
power to those Turkish refugees who may desire to return to
their former homes in the districts of Trebizond, Erzerum, Van
and Bitlis remembering that these peoples, too, have suffered
greatly. It is my further expectation that they will offer such
considerate treatment to the Laz and the Greek inhabitants of
the coastal region of the Black Sea, surpassing in the
liberality of their administrative arrangements, if necessary,
even the ample provisions for non-Armenian racial and religious
groups embodied in the Minorities Treaty signed by them upon
August 10th of this year, that these peoples will gladly and
willingly work in completest harmony with the Armenians in
laying firmly the foundation of the new Republic of Armenia.
I have the honor to submit herewith the text of my decision.
Accept [etc.]
Woodrow Wilson
Washington, November 22, 1920.
[Enclosure 2]
Decision of President Wilson respecting the
Frontier between Turkey and Armenia, Access for Armenia to
the Sea, and the Demilitarization of Turkish Territory
adjacent to the Armenian Frontier
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, to Whom it shall
Concern,
Greeting:
Whereas, on April 26, 1920, the Supreme Council of the Allied
Powers, in conference at San Remo, addressed to the President of
the United States of America an invitation to act as arbitrator
in the question of the boundary between Turkey and Armenia, to
be fixed within the four Vilayets of Erzerum, Trebizond, Van,
and Bitlis;
And whereas, on May 17, 1920, my acceptance of this invitation
was telegraphed to the American Ambassador in Paris, to be
conveyed to the Powers represented on the Supreme Council;
And whereas, on August 10, 1920, a Treaty of Peace was signed at
Sevres by Plenipotentiary Representatives of the British Empire,
France, Italy and Japan, and of Armenia, Belgium, Greece,
Poland, Portugal, Roumania, and Czecho-Slovakia, of the one
part, and of Turkey, of the other part, which Treaty contained,
among other provisions, the following:
[Page 796]
“Article 89
“Turkey and Armenia as well as the other High Contracting
Parties agree to submit to the arbitration of the
President of the United States of America the question
of the frontier to be fixed between Turkey and Armenia
in the Vilayets of Erzerum, Trebizond, Van and Bitlis,
and to accept his decision thereupon, as well as any
stipulations he may prescribe as to access for Armenia
to the sea, and as to the demilitarization of any
portion of Turkish territory adjacent to the said
frontier”;
And whereas, on October 18, 1920, the Secretariat General of the
Peace Conference, acting under the instructions of the Allied
Powers, transmitted to me, through the Embassy of the United
States of America in Paris, an authenticated copy of the above
mentioned Treaty, drawing attention to the said Article 89;
Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States
of America, upon whom has thus been conferred the authority of
arbitrator, having examined the question in the light of the
most trustworthy information available, and with a mind to the
highest interests of justice, do hereby declare the following
decision:
I
The frontier between Turkey and Armenia in the Vilayets of
Erzerum, Trebizond, Van, and Bitlis, shall be fixed as follows
(see annexed map on the scale of 1:1,000,00032):
1. The initial point* shall be chosen
on the ground at the junction of the Turkish-Persian frontier
with the eastern termination of the administrative boundary
between the Sandjaks of Van and Hakkiari, of the Vilayet of Van,
as this administrative boundary appears upon the Bashkala sheet
of the Turkish map, scale 1:200,000, editions published in the
Turkish financial years 1330 and 1331 (1914 and 1915). From this
initial point the boundary shall extend south-westward to the
western peak of Merkezer Dagh, situated about 6 kilometers
westward from point 3350 (10,990 feet), about 2 kilometers
[Page 797]
southeastward from the
village of Yokary Ahvalan, and approximately 76 kilometers
southeastward from the city of Van,
the sandjak boundary specified above, then the administrative
boundary between the Kazas of Mamuret-ul-Hamid and Elback, then
the same sandjak boundary specified above, all modified, where
necessary, to follow the main water-parting between the Zap Su
(Great Zab Eiver) and the Khoshab Su, and dividing equably the
summits of the passes Krdes Gedik and Chokh Gedik;
thence northwestward about 28 kilometers to Klesiry Dagh,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings between the Khoshab Su and the streams flowing
into the Shatak Su, and traversing the pass south of the village
of Yokary Ahvalan, and passing through Shkolans Dagh (3100
meters or 10,170 feet) and the Belereshuk pass;
thence south west ward to the junction of an unnamed stream with
the Shatak Su at a point about 10 kilometers southward from the
village of Shatak,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, and passing through Koh Kiran Daghlar, Sari Dagh
(3150 meters or 10,335 feet), Kevmetala Tepe (3500 meters or
11,480 feet), point 3540 (11,615 feet), in such a way as to
leave to Armenia the village of Eyreti, and to Turkey the
village of Araz, and to cross the Shatak Su at least 2
kilometers southward from the village of Dir Mouem Kilisa;
thence westward to the point where the Bitlis–Van Vilayet
boundary reaches the Moks Su from the west, situated about 18
kilometers southward from the village of Moks,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Armenia the villages of Kachet,
Sinpass, and Ozim, passing through Kanisor Tepe (3245 meters or
10,645 feet), an unnamed peak about 3 kilometers southward from
Arnus Dagh (3550 meters or 11,645 feet), crossing an unnamed
stream about 2 kilometers southward from the village of Sinpass,
passing through point 3000 (9840 feet), following the boundary
between the Vilayets of Van and Bitlis for about 3 kilometers
southwestward from this point and continuing southwestward on
the same ridge to an unnamed peak about 2 kilometers eastward
from Moks Su, and then descending to this stream;
thence northward to an unnamed peak on the boundary between the
Vilayets of Van and Bitlis about 3 kilometers westward from the
pass at Mata Gedik,
the administrative boundary between the Vilayets of Van and
Bitlis, modified south of Vankin Dagh (3200 meters or 10,500
feet) to follow the main water-parting;
[Page 798]
thence westward to the peak Meidan Chenidiani, situated on the
boundary between the Sandjaks of Bitlis and Sairt about 29
kilometers southeastward from the city of Bitlis,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, passing through Veberhan Dagh (3110 meters or
10,200 feet), crossing the Kesan Dere about 2 kilometers
southward from the village of Khoros, leaving to Turkey the
villages of Semhaj and Nevaleyn as well as the bridge or ford on
the trail between them, and leaving to Armenia the village of
Chopans and the trail leading to it from the northeast;
thence westward to the Guzel Dere Su at a point about 23
kilometers southward from the city of Bitlis and about 2
kilometers southward from Nuri Ser peak (2150 meters or 7050
feet),
the administrative boundary between the Sandjaks of Bitlis and
Sairt, and then, a line to be fixed on the ground, following the
main water-partings, and passing through points 2750 and 2700 of
Kur Dagh, (9020 and 8860 feet respectively), Biluki Dagh (2230
meters or 7315 feet), and Sihaser Tepe (2250 meters or 7380
feet);
thence westward to the junction of the Bitlis Su and the unnamed
stream near the village of Deshtumi, about 30 kilometers
southwest-ward from the city of Bitlis,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Turkey the villages of Lered and
Daruni, and to Armenia the village of Enbu and all portions of
the trail leading northeastward to the Bitlis Su from Mergelu
peak (1850 meters or 6070 feet), and passing through Mergelu
Tepe and Shikh Tabur ridge;
thence westward to the Zuk (Gharzan) Su at a point about 11
kilometers northeastward from the village of Hazo and
approximately 1 kilometer upstream from the village of Zily,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Armenia the village of Deshtumi,
passing through the eastern peak of Kalmen Dagh (2710 meters or
8890 feet) and continuing in such a manner as to leave to
Armenia the upland dolina, or basin of
interior drainage, to traverse the pass about 3 kilometers
westward from the village of Avesipy, passing through Shelash
Dagh (1944 meters or 6380 feet);
thence westward to the Sassun Dere at a point about 4 kilometers
southwestward from the village of Kabil Jeviz and approximately
47 kilometers southward from the city of Mush,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings through Cheyardash peak (2001 meters or 6565
feet), Keupeka peak (1931 meters or 6335 feet), an unnamed peak
on the Sassun Dagh about 4 kilometers southwestward from Malato
Dagh (2967 meters or 9735 feet), point 2229 (7310 feet), and
leaving to Turkey the village of Gundenu;
[Page 799]
thence northwestward to the Talury Dere at a point about 2
kilometers upstream from the village of Kasser and approximately
37 kilometers northeastward from the village of Seylevan
(Farkin),
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings and passing through an unnamed peak about 2
kilometers eastward from the village of Seyluk, and through
point 2073 (6800 feet), leaving to Armenia the village of
Heyshtirem;
thence northwestward to the western tributary of the Talury Dere
at a point about 2 kilometers eastward from the village of Helin
and approximately 42 kilometers southwestward from the city of
Mush,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, and passing through point 2251 (7385 feet);
thence northwestward to the junction of the Kulp Boghazy (Kulp
Su) and Askar Dere, approximately 42 kilometers southwestward
from the city of Mush,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings leaving to Turkey the village of Helin and to
Armenia the village of Kehirvanik;
thence northwestward to a point on the administrative boundary
between the Sandjaks of Gendj and Mush northeast of Mir Ismail
Dagh, and situated about 5 kilometers westward from the village
of Pelekoz, and approximately 19 kilometers southward from the
village of Ardushin,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, and passing through the Komiss Dagh;
thence northwestward to the Frat Nehri (Murad Su, or Euphrates)
at a point to be determined on the ground about 1 kilometer
upstream from the village of Dome and approximately 56
kilometers westward from the city of Mush,
the administrative boundary between the Sandjaks of Gendj and
Mush northward for about 2 kilometers, then a line to be fixed
on the ground, following the main water-partings westward to an
unnamed peak approximately 6 kilometers east of Chutela (Akche
Kara) Dagh (2940 meters or 9645 feet), then northward passing
through Hadije Tepe on Arshik Dagh, leaving to Turkey the
village of Kulay and to Armenia the village of Kluhuran;
thence northwestward to the Gunik Su at a point about midway
between two trails crossing this river about half way between
the villages of Elmaly and Chenajky, and approximately 26
kilometers northeastward from the village of Cholik
(Chevelik),
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, passing through an unnamed peak about 2
kilometers westward from the village of Shanghar, along Solkhan
Dagh, and through point 2200 (7220 feet), leaving to Turkey the
villages of
[Page 800]
Shanghar
and Chenajky, and to Armenia the villages of Kumistan, Lichinak,
and Elmaly;
thence northwestward to the boundary between the Vilayets of
Erzerum and Bitlis at an unnamed peak near where a straight line
between the villages of Erchek and Agha Keui would intersect
said vilayet boundary,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, passing through point 2050 (6725 feet);
thence northward to an unnamed peak on said vilayet boundary
about 8 kilometers northwestward from Kartalik Tepe on the
Choris Dagh,
the administrative boundary between the Vilayets of Erzerum and
Bitlis;
thence westward to the Buyuk Su (Kighi Su) at a point about 2
kilometers upstream from the junction of the Ghabzu Dere with
it, and approximately 11 kilometers northwestward from the
village of Kighi,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings of the Sheitan Daghlar, passing through points
2610 (8565 feet), Sheitan Dagh (2906 meters or 9535 feet),
Hakstun Dagh, and leaving to Armenia the village of Dinek and
the ford or bridge southwest of this village;
thence westward to the Dar Boghaz (Kuttu Dere) at a point about 3
kilometers southward from the village of Chardaklar
(Palumor),
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Armenia the villages of Shorakh and
Ferhadin, passing through Ghabarti Dagh (2550 meters or 8365
feet), Sian Dagh (2750 meters or 9020 feet), the 2150–meter pass
on the Palumor-Kighi trail near Mustafa Bey Konaghy, Feziria
Tepe (2530 meters or 8300 feet), point 2244 (7360 feet), and
point 2035 (6675 feet);
thence westward to the point common to the boundaries of the
Sandjaks of Erzingan and Erzerum and the vilayet of
Mamuret-ul-Aziz, situated at a sharp angle in the vilayet
boundary, approximately 24 kilometers westward from the village
of Palumor and 32 kilometers southeastward from the city of
Erzingan,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, and passing northwestward through an unnamed
peak about 2 kilometers southwestward from Palumor, through
Silos (Kersinod) Dagh (2405 meters or 7890 feet) to an unnamed
peak on the southern boundary of the Sandjak of Erzingan, about
8 kilometers south-westward from the Palumor-Erzingan pass, then
turning south-westward along said sandjak boundary for nearly 13
kilometers, passing through Karaja Kaleh (3100 meters or 10,170
feet);
[Page 801]
thence westward to an unnamed peak on the boundary between the
Villayets of Erzerum and Mamuret-ul-Aziz about 3 kilometers
northeastward from the pass on the trail across the Monzur
Silsilesi between Kennakh on the Euphrates and Pelur in the
Dersim, the peak being approximately 40 kilometers southwestward
from the city of Erzingan,
the administrative boundary between the Vilayets of Erzerum and
Mamuret-ul-Aziz, modified,* in case a majority of the voting
members of the Boundary Commission deem it wise, to follow the
main water-parting along the ridge between an unnamed peak about
2 kilo* meters southwest of Merjan Daghlar
(3449 meters or 11,315 feet) and Katar Tepe (3300 meters or
10,825 feet);
thence northward to the Frat Nehri (Kara Su, or Euphrates) at a
point to be determined on the ground about 6 kilometers eastward
from the village of Kemakh and approximately 35 kilometers
south-westward from the city of Erzingan,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Turkey the trail from Pelur in the
Dersim to Kemakh on the Euphrates, and to Armenia the village of
Koja Arbler;
thence, northward to the boundary between the Vilayets of Erzerum
and Trebizond at a point to be determined about 1 kilometer west
of peak 2930 (2630? or 8625 feet) and about 4 kilometers
south* ward from the village of Metkut,
or approximately 39 kilometers northwestward from the city of
Erzingan,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Turkey the villages of Chalghy Yady,
Toms, and Alamlik, and to Armenia the village of Erkghan and the
road and col south of the village of Metkut, passing through
Utch Kardash Tepe, Kelek Kiran (Tekke Tash, 2800 meters or 9185
feet), Kehnam Dagh (or Kara Dagh, 3030 meters or 9940 feet),
dividing equably between Armenia and Turkey the summit of the
pass about 2 kilometers westward from the village of Zazker and,
similarly, the summit of the pass of Krai Kham Boghazy near the
village of Chardakli, passing
[Page 802]
through point 2760 on Kara Dagh (9055
feet), point 2740 (8990 feet), and a point to be determined on
the ground, situated near the Iky Sivry stream less than 2
kilometers westward from the Chimen Dagh pass, and located in
such a manner as to leave to Turkey the junction of the two
roads leading westward to the villages of Kuchi Keui and Kara
Yayrak, and to Armenia the junction of two other roads leading
to the villages of Metkut and Kirmana; the Boundary Commission
shall determine in the field the most equable disposition of the
highway between points 2760 and 2740;
thence northwestward to the Kelkit Chai (Kelkit Irmak) at the
point where the boundary between the Vilayets of Trebizond and
Sivas reaches it from the south,
the administrative boundary between the Vilayets of Trebizond and
Erzerum, and then the administrative boundary between the
Vilayets of Trebizond and Sivas;
thence northward to an unnamed peak on the boundary between the
Vilayets of Trebizond and Sivas about 4 kilometers southwestward
from Borgha Paya (2995 meters or 9825 feet) the latter being
situated approximately 38 kilometers southwestward from the city
of Gumush-khana,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Armenia the villages of Halkit,
Sinanli, Kiliktin, and Kirtanos; and to Turkey the villages of
Kar Kishla, Sadik, Kara Kia, and Ara, crossing the pass between
the western tributaries of the Shiran Chai and the eastern
headwaters of the Barsak Dere (Kara Chai) about 43 kilometers
eastward from the city of Karahissar Sharki (Shebin
Karahissar);
thence northeastward, northward, and westward to an unnamed peak
on the boundary between the Vilayets of Trebizond and Sivas
situated about 7 kilometers northwestward from Yerchi Tepe (2690
meters or 8825 feet) and approximately 47 kilometers south
southeastward from the city of Kerasun,
the administrative boundary between the Vilayets of Trebizond and
Sivas;
thence northward, from the point last mentioned, on the crest of
the Pontic Range, to the Black Sea, at a point to be determined
on the seacoast about 1 kilometer westward from the village of
Keshab, and approximately 9 kilometers eastward from the city of
Kerasun,
a line to be fixed on the ground, following the main
water-partings, leaving to Turkey the fields, pastures, forests,
and villages within the drainage basin of the Komit Dere (Ak Su)
and its tributaries, and to Armenia the fields, pastures,
forests, and villages within the drainage basins of the Yaghaj
Dere (Espiya Dera) and the
[Page 803]
Venazit Dere (Keshab Dere) and their
tributaries, and drawn in such a manner as to utilize the
boundary between the Kazas of Tripoli (Tireboli) and Kerasun in
the 7 kilometers just south of Kara Tepe (1696 meters or 5565
feet), and to provide the most convenient relationships between
the new frontier and the trails along the ridges, as these
relationships may be determined by the Boundary Commission in
the field after consultation with the local inhabitants.
2. In case of any discrepancies between the text of this Decision
and the maps on the scales of 1:1,000,000 and 1:200,000 annexed,
the text will be final.
The limits of the four vilayets specified in Article 89 of the
Treaty of Sevres are taken as of October 29, 1914.
The frontier, as described above, is drawn in red on an
authenticated map on the scale of 1:1,000,000 which is annexed
to the present Frontier Decision. The geographical names here
mentioned appear upon the maps accompanying this text.
The chief authorities used for the names of geographical
features, and of elevations of mountains, and the location of
vilayet, sandjak, and kaza boundaries, are the Turkish General
Staff map, scale 1:200,000, and, in part, the British map, scale
1:1,000,000.
The maps on the scale of 1:200,000 are recommended to the
Boundary Commission, provided in Article 91, for their use in
tracing on the spot the portion of the frontiers of Armenia
established by this Decision.
II
The frontier described above, by assigning the harbor of
Trebizond and the valley of the Karshut Su to Armenia, precludes
the necessity of further provision for access for Armenia to the
sea.
III
In addition to the general provisions for the limitation of
armaments, embodied in the Military, Naval and Air Clauses, Part
V of the Treaty of Sevres, the demilitarization of Turkish
territory adjacent to the frontier of Armenia as above
established shall be effected as follows:
The Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control and Organization
provided for in Articles 196–200 of the Treaty of Sevres shall
appoint the superior officers of the gendarmerie stationed in
those vilayets of Turkey lying contiguous to the frontiers of
the state of Armenia exclusively from the officers to be
supplied by the various Allied or neutral Powers according to
Article 159 of the said Treaty.
These officers shall, in addition to their other duties, be
especially charged with the task of observing and reporting to
the Military
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Inter-Allied Commission of Control and Organization upon any
tendencies within these Turkish vilayets toward military
aggression against the Armenian frontier, such as the building
of strategic railways and highways, the establishment of depots
of military supplies, the creation of military colonies, and the
use of propaganda dangerous to the peace and quiet of the
adjacent Armenian territory. The Military Inter-Allied
Commission of Control and Organization shall thereupon take such
action as is necessary to prevent the concentrations and other
aggressive activities enumerated above.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
[seal] Done in
duplicate at the city of Washington on the twenty-second day of
November, one thousand nine hundred and twenty, and of the
Independence of the United States the one hundred and
forty-fifth.
By the President:
Bainbridge
Colby
Secretary of
State.
