Treaty of Lausanne

The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty that delimited the boundaries of modern Greece and Turkey. It was signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 24, 1923 by Greece, Turkey and other countries (including the Allied Powers) that fought in the First World War and in the Turkish Independence War / War in Asia Minor, 1919-1922.

It superseded the stillborn Treaty of Sèvres which was considered "unacceptable" by the newly founded Turkish government replacing the monarchy in Istanbul. After the expulsion of the Greek forces by the Turkish army under the command of Kemal Atatürk, there was a need to extensively revise the Treaty of Sèvres. On October 20, 1922 the peace conference was opened, and after strenuous debates, it was interrupted on February 4, 1923. After reopening on April 23, the treaty was signed on July 24 after a total of 8 months of long and arduous discussions.

İsmet İnönü was the lead negotiator of Turkey and Eleftherios Venizelos for Greece. The treaty provides for the independence of the Republic of Turkey but also for the protection of the ethnic Greek minority in Turkey and the religious Muslim minority in Greece. Much of the Greek population of Turkey was exchanged with the Turkish population of Greece. The Greeks of Istanbul, Imvros and Tenedos were excluded (about 400,000 at that time), but also the Muslim population of Western Thrace (about 25,000 at that time).

Since signing of the treaty, both Turkey and Greece has claimed that the other has violated its provisions. Greece has seen its ethnic minority population in Turkey diminish from several hundred thousands in 1923 to a mere couple of thousand today, and claims that this was caused by the systematic enforcement of anti-minority measures. On the other hand, although the Muslim minority in Greece has increased significantly since 1923, Turkey accuses Greece for denying their ethnic identity as well as property and citizenship rights. Turkey also accuses Greece of re-militarising Eastern Aegean Islands, such as Lesbos, in violation of the treaty.

See Also

• Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations
• Aftermath of World War I
• Turkish War of Independence
• Treaty of Sevres
• Treaty of Kars

External links

• Text of the treaty
• Information about the Treaty (1)
• Information about the Treaty (2)
• Text and Information about the Treaty