Paris, 28 May 1919. On the first anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic the delegation led by Alimardan bey Topchubashov is received by US President Woodrow Wilson. The President listens carefully but is in no hurry to recognise Azerbaijan. How did a small republic seek recognition in a world of great powers, and when did recognition come?
Aims and neighbours
The aims of foreign policy came from point 3 of the Declaration of Independence (see «The founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Declaration of Independence»): international recognition of independence, peace with the neighbours, agreed borders and safe routes for oil exports. They were hard to reach, because the Republic lay where the interests of great powers clashed — the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, Soviet Russia and the Whites.
The first ally was the Ottoman Empire: in the Treaty of Batumi of 4 June 1918 it was the first to recognise the ADR, and it sent the Caucasian Islamic Army. After Mudros the Ottoman troops left, and the Republic had to build relations with the Entente, above all with Great Britain (see «For territorial integrity: the liberation of Baku and the Karabakh and Nakhchivan governor-generalships»).
With Georgia there were disputes over the Zakatala district and Borchali, but a common danger drew the two republics together; Azerbaijani oil was also exported across Georgia, through the port of Batumi. On 16 June 1919 the two states signed a military defence pact in Tiflis: each promised the other military help if its independence were attacked.
Relations with Armenia were the tensest: it claimed Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhchivan, and armed clashes did not stop. In November 1919 the two sides signed an agreement in Tiflis to end hostilities, but Armenia soon attacked again in Zangezur. To the south, relations with Iran gradually improved: on 1 March 1920 the two states signed a treaty and Iran recognised the ADR’s independence.
Two threats from the north: Denikin and Soviet Russia
The White general Denikin, under the slogan of a «united and indivisible Russia», did not recognise the independent republics. In spring 1919 his Volunteer Army took Dagestan and approached Azerbaijan’s borders. The defence pact with Georgia was the answer to this threat.
At the end of 1919 the Red Army defeated Denikin. On 2 January 1920 Soviet Russia’s commissar for foreign affairs Chicherin sent the ADR government a note proposing a military alliance against Denikin. Foreign minister Fatali Khan Khoyski replied that Azerbaijan did not interfere in Russia’s internal affairs and that talks were possible only once its independence was recognised. In later notes too Moscow avoided the question of independence — a sign of its interest in Baku oil (see «The fall of the ADR: the April invasion»).
At the Paris Peace Conference
At the end of 1918 parliament sent a delegation headed by Alimardan bey Topchubashov to the Paris Peace Conference. It waited for months in Istanbul for visas and reached Paris only in May 1919. The delegation handed the conference a memorandum asking that Azerbaijan’s independence be recognised and that it be admitted to the League of Nations.
On 28 May 1919 the delegation was received by US President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson said the conference did not want to break the world into small states, advised the South Caucasian republics to form a confederation and said the Azerbaijani question would be considered after the Russian question was settled. The great powers still hoped for a White victory and the restoration of a «united Russia».
11 January 1920: de facto recognition
Denikin’s defeat changed everything. Alarmed by the Bolsheviks approaching the Caucasus, the Entente powers decided to back the South Caucasian republics. On 11 January 1920 the Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference recognised Azerbaijan’s independence de facto; Georgia was recognised de facto at the same time.
De facto and de jure recognitionDefinition
De facto — recognising that a state actually exists and governs; de jure — full legal recognition: exchange of ambassadors, treaties, membership of international organisations. The ADR never reached de jure recognition.
De facto recognition was a great diplomatic success: the ADR was accepted as a party to international relations, and foreign states had missions in Baku. But recognition promised no military help. Three months later, when Soviet Russia invaded, the Entente powers did not come to the rescue.
| Person | Who he was, what he did |
|---|---|
| Alimardan bey Topchubashov | Chairman of parliament; head of the Paris delegation |
| Woodrow Wilson | US President; received the delegation on 28 May 1919 |
| Mammad Hasan Hajinski | First foreign minister; Treaty of Batumi (1918) |
| Fatali Khan Khoyski | Foreign minister (1919–1920); answered Chicherin’s notes |
| Chicherin | Soviet Russia’s commissar for foreign affairs; the notes of January 1920 |
| Denikin | White general; «a united and indivisible Russia» |
| State | Relationship | Key act, date |
|---|---|---|
| Ottoman Empire | Ally, first to recognise | Treaty of Batumi, 4 June 1918 |
| Georgia | Cooperation despite disputes | Military defence pact, 16 June 1919 |
| Armenia | Territorial claims, clashes | Tiflis agreement, November 1919 (broken) |
| Iran | Gradual rapprochement | Treaty, 1 March 1920 |
| Soviet Russia | Did not recognise independence | Chicherin’s notes, January 1920 |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Denikin’s army nears the borders (spring 1919) | Military defence pact with Georgia (16 June 1919) |
| The great powers’ hope for a «united Russia» | No recognition in 1919; Wilson’s advice of a confederation |
| Denikin defeated, the Bolsheviks approach the Caucasus | De facto recognition by the Supreme Council (11 January 1920) |
| The ADR refuses an alliance without recognition | Soviet Russia prepares an invasion |
Interactive
- 28 May 1918
Declaration of Independence
Point 3: friendly relations with the neighbours.
- 4 June 1918
Treaty of Batumi
- January 1919
The Paris Peace Conference opens
- spring 1919
Denikin’s army in Dagestan
- 28 May 1919
Meeting with Wilson
- 16 June 1919
Defence pact with Georgia
- November 1919
The Tiflis agreement with Armenia
- 2 January 1920
Chicherin’s first note
- 11 January 1920
De facto recognition
The Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference.
- 1 March 1920
Treaty with Iran
The President received us and listened carefully. We handed him our memorandum, asked for Azerbaijan to be recognised as an independent state and told him that our people were determined to defend their state.
The President answered that the conference did not wish to break the world into small pieces. He advised the South Caucasian republics to form a confederation among themselves. In his words, our question could not be settled before the general settlement of the Russian question. The meeting was cordial, but no promise of recognition was made.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Which meeting is described? Give its date and place and name the head of the delegation.
2) Explain two reasons why the great powers were in no hurry to recognise Azerbaijan in 1919.
3) Name two later events (consequences) NOT stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Political: the great powers hoped for a White victory and a restored «united Russia»; the Russian question was unsettled. Principle: the conference did not want the world split into small states, and the border disputes in the South Caucasus (with Armenia) were unsettled. Marks: two reasons explained — 1; one — ½.
3) Denikin was defeated and on 11 January 1920 the Supreme Council recognised the ADR de facto; the defence pact with Georgia was signed (16 June 1919); no confederation was formed; de jure recognition never came, and in April 1920 the Soviet invasion took place. Marks: two events — 1; one — ½.
Exam task: comparing two treaties
Problem
Group the statements: a) only the Treaty of Batumi (1918); b) only the defence pact with Georgia (1919); c) both.
1. provided for military help
2. the Ottoman Empire was a party
3. was aimed against the Denikin threat
4. served to protect the ADR’s independence
5. was signed in 1919
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Solution
Step 2: The Ottoman party — only 1918 (2).
Step 3: Denikin was the threat in 1919, and the pact dates from 1919 (3, 5).
Answer: a — 2; b — 3, 5; c — 1, 4.
Exam task: chronology
Problem
Put the events in chronological order:
1. de facto recognition
2. the meeting with Wilson
3. the defence pact with Georgia
4. the treaty with Iran
5. the Treaty of Batumi
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Solution
Step 2: 1919: 28 May (Wilson) comes before 16 June (pact) — 2, 3.
Step 3: 1920: 11 January (de facto) comes before 1 March (Iran) — 1, 4.
Answer: 5, 2, 3, 1, 4.
Remember
- Foreign policy sought recognition of independence, peace with the neighbours and safe oil-export routes.
- Ottoman Empire — Treaty of Batumi (4 June 1918); Georgia — military defence pact (16 June 1919); Iran — treaty (1 March 1920); relations with Armenia were the tensest.
- Denikin, fighting for a «united and indivisible Russia», did not recognise independence; Soviet Russia (Chicherin’s notes, January 1920) also avoided it.
- Topchubashov’s delegation met Wilson on 28 May 1919; Wilson advised a confederation and tied recognition to the Russian question.
- 11 January 1920 — the Supreme Council recognised the ADR de facto (at the same time as Georgia); there was no de jure recognition and no military help.