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  Selected Secret Documents from Soviet Foreign Policy Documents Archives - 1919 to 1941

Concentrated on 1st and  2nd WW Correspondence and Meetings related to Turkey, Balkans and Iran, with some additions from Afghanistan and India.

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Telegram of the peopleʹs commissar for foreign affairs of the Azerbaijan SSR to the commissar for foreign affairs of the government of the grand national assembly of Turkey Yusuf Kemal.

July 21, 1921

In response to your telegram conveyed to me by comrade Natsarenus, with a feeling of deep satisfaction, I hasten to inform you that I fully share your desire to start convening a Transcaucasian‐Turkish conference. Our vital interests mutually dictate the need, in addition to and development of the Moscow treaty, for the rapid strengthening in contractual forms of those relations of union and friendship, which permeate the communication between Turkey and the Transcaucasian Soviet republics, which have a common front against a common enemy and decide on the basis of popular aspirations and desires questions of the historical paths of its development.

Even when you were in Baku, discussing certain issues related to the conclusion of an agreement, I insisted on convening a conference in Baku. You expressed your desire to have the Kars conference as a venue, to which, for my part, I did not object. Both then and now, provided that we would have continuous and constant communication with our missions, I would not object to Kars as the place of convening the conference and would undertake the obligation to obtain the consent            of            my         comrades             Armenians          and        Georgians            for this. Appreciating your exceptional services in the rapprochement of the Soviet republics with Turkey and sincerely wishing your presence in the Turkish delegation at the Turkish‐Azerbaijani‐GeorgianArmenian conference, I, unfortunately, still cannot give my consent to the convening of the conference in angora.

In conclusion, I cannot but express my sincere hope that, despite the enormous significance of your work, which requires your presence in angora, we will have deep pleasure to see you at the head of the Turkish delegation at the upcoming conference.

Please accept the assurance of my complete respect and devotion to you.

Peopleʹs commissar for foreign affairs

Huseynov

Print. By architect.

In the mentioned telegram of Yusuf Kemal dated July 1, 1921, it was said:

“to resolve all issues that exist between the fraternal republic of Azerbaijan and the government of the grand national assembly of Turkey, to streamline and establish relations and, finally, to discuss by the parties such circumstances as mutual guarantee of the parties in matters related to Azerbaijan and touched upon in the Moscow treaty, concluded between Turkey and Russia, I, as you already know from our conversation in Baku with our delegation, ask you to appoint your delegates to the conference.

Earlier, Kars, which is the seat of the headquarters of our eastern army, was proposed as a place for such a conference, however, my election to the post of commissioner for foreign affairs and an extraordinary desire to personally finish the work I have begun prompts me to ask for your consent to convene this conference in angora. On the other hand, since my government, which attaches great importance to this conference, intends to entrust me with this matter, the convening of the conference in a place other than angora will for a long time deprive me of the opportunity to deal with my business. My government is ready to render all possible assistance to all delegates on the question of telegraph communication, just as it has until now provided extraordinary privileges to the Russian embassy located in our city.

We were unable to negotiate the issue of the conference with the leader of the Armenian Soviet republic, but if the Erivan Soviet government has a desire, it will give us pleasure by sending its delegates to angora. As it was decided earlier, I ask you to inform him about these proposals. ʺ

  

Note from the peopleʹs commissar for foreign affairs of the Georgian SSR to the commissar for foreign affairs of the government of the grand national assembly of Turkey, Yusuf Kemal.

July 31, 1921

The Soviet government of Georgia accepts with deep satisfaction your proposal addressed to the governments of Georgia and the fraternal Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia to convene a

conference. The Georgian government hopes that this conference will serve to further strengthen and develop friendly neighborly relations that already exist between the working masses of Georgia and the people united under the rule of the grand national assembly.

We are ready to delegate our plenipotentiary representation to the conference in the very near future. But we expect that the angora government will not insist on the election of the city of angora as the place of the conference, this point so remote and not having reliable telegraphic communication with the residences of the other governments participating in the conference. We are ready to choose the city of Kars according to your initial proposal, subject to providing our delegation with a direct wire to Tiflis, or we can, on our part, propose to hold a conference in the city of Batumi, guaranteeing your delegation free use of wires and radio.

Pending your reply, please accept, citizen commissioner, the assurance of my utmost respect.

A. Svanidze