BRITAIN AND THE LAUSANNE CONFERENCE: 1922-1923

Abstract

The Treaty of Lausanne was the most successful and lasting peace settlement of the post-First World War period. Britain and Turkey, the only ex-enemy state to be treated as an equal in any of the peace negotiations, came away with their aspirations largely satisfied. The conference terminated four years of strife and tension in the Near East, a result partially of the reckless decision of the Council of Three at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to authorise the landing of Greek troops in İzmir (Smyrna) on 15 May, largely to thwart Italian claims in the region. This decision was largely responsible for the creation of the Turkish nationalist movement at Ankara, headed by (General) Mustafa Kemâl Pasha (later Atatürk), who had served in the Ottoman army with distinction during the First World War.