Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎194v] (388/544)

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LORD CURZON : No, it has been set up since May, 1918, and it is one of the
four bodies in the Caucasus now appealing for recognition. The four are Georgia,
Daghestan, Azerbaijan, and Russian Armenia. The Russian Armenians are functioning
at this moment at Erivan. But I do not know that we can go into the boundaries now.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : No, but it is rather important.
GENERAL SMUTS : We must be clear about this. We know what Georgia is,
and the others, but this nondescript area we must be certain about.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : Georgia and Daghestan are easy to understand ; they
have a real existence, but this thing has been brought into existence during the war
and had no existence prior to the war of any sort or kind. It is not only that they
had no existence formerly, but there was no semi-autoncmy under the Russians, or
anything of that kind. It was just a part of Russia, like any other part.
LORD CURZON : It might equally be said that Turkish Armenia was not
separate, but was under the Turk.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : It was a part of the Trans-Caucasian Government.
There was no suggestion, so far as it had any State-consciousness, that it was a part of
Armenia.
LORD CURZON : One of the chief reasons, apart from the strategical grounds
expounded by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, for suggesting the political inde
pendence of this region is that the Armenians inhabiting it have great interests in Baku.
Many of them are the principal owners of the oil wells there.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : I hesitate to question anything, but I think that the
Armenians in all parts of the world have interests in Baku, have they not ? I do not
think the people who live in Erivan have.
LORD CURZON : Sir Louis Mallet will tell you.
SIR LOUIS MALLET : This is what Mr. Stevens says about the Armenians.
He says they are likely to unite with the Turks, but it is not certain that they would
now. They have great interests in Georgia and Baku.
LORD ROBERT CECIL: I should have thought it would be almost hope
less, in the present condition of affairs, to go to the Peace Conference and say you
propose to have an Armenia which contains a very small minority of Armenians, and
that you propose to exclude from Armenia the one district which probably has a majority
of Armenians.
LORD CURZON: I do not know about the exact proportions of the population,
but would not a great deal turn upon what are the feelings of the people themselves ?
LORD ROBERT CECIL : |I think, as Stevens says, they will probably wish to
join with the rest of the Armenians.
LORD CURZON : No, far from it. I think it is the other way. Their stake is
in Baku, *nd I believe that they would view with dismay being joined to the six vilayets
under France or whoever is the tutelary Power. But are we wise in discussing these
details to-day ?
LORD ROBERT CECIL : It is a matter for you. You say you feel quite satisfied
with everything in the General Staff paper. I am not satisfied myself with that part
of it, at any rate. I cannot conceive that you would yain anything from any point of
view whatever, if you look at the map, by cutting that bit off from Armenia and making
it separate. It does not seem to me to add anything to the strength of Georgia,
Azerbaijan, and Daghestan.
MR. BALFOUR : It would prevent the French, in control of Cilician Armenia, as
I will call it, from having access to the Caspian Sea.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : No, it would not, with great respect. Azerbaijan is
the substantial barrier.
MR. BALFOUR : Yes, and it doubles that.
LORD ROBERT CECIL : I adds a bit to it, but on the other hand you have
immediately an Armenia Irredenta.