Istanbul Conference planned between the Ottoman State and the Caucasian States in Turkish Press in Istanbul (June-October 1918)

This study examines the Turkish press coverage of the Istanbul Conference which was planned by the Ottoman State to assemble in August 1918, towards the end of the World War I, with the Caucasian peoples and the delegates of the states with which it made alliance in Istanbul during the War, in order to solve the problems around the Caucasian border, but could not assemble due to various reasons. In this period, the Ottoman State launched a forward operating to capture Elviye-i Selase (Three Provinces) which included Kars, Ardahan, and Batumi, following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed between the Ottoman State and its allies and Bolshevik Russia on 3 March 1918. The Caucasian border was drawn during the operation, through the Conferences and Treaties of Trabzon in March-April 1918 first and then Batum in May-June 1918. Nevertheless, these treaties did not solve the problems in Caucasia completely. Therefore, the Ottoman State declared that those problems had to be solved at a conference in Istanbul to be held with the delegates of the Caucasian peoples and the delegates of the states with which it made alliance in Istanbul. All these had a broad repercussion in the newspapers published in Istanbul. In this study, answers to questions like the following are searched: Why was the Istanbul Conference needed? What kind of preparations were done for the Conference? Who was invited to the Istanbul Conference? What nations sent delegation to Istanbul for the Conference? What kind of activities were those delegations coming to Istanbul engaged in? What kind of activities was the National Delegation of Azerbaijan, which was significant for the Ottoman State, engaged in in Istanbul? Why could not the Istanbul Conference be held despite all the preparations? What is the significance of the process of the Istanbul Conference? All the issues of Vakit, Tesvir-i Efkar, Zaman and, Ikdam dated between June and October 1918 have been scanned. Tens of news related to the Istanbul Conference have been examined and used in the study.

Dergi

CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI

Yıl

2023

Cilt

19

Sayı

37

Sayfa

491-526

ISSN

1305-1458

eISSN

2147-1592

WoS UID

WOS:001052795200017