THE NINETY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE PEACE TREATY OF LAUSANNE Teoman Ertuğrul TULUN Analyst 24 July is the ninety-seventh anniversary of the signing of the Peace Treaty of Lausanne (shortly Lausanne Treaty) on 24 July 1923 which legally abolished and superseded the Treaty of Sèvres of 10 August 1920 that was designed by the Allies of the World War I for the liquidation of the Ottoman Empire and virtually abolishing the Turkish sovereignty. Thanks to the Turkish War of Liberation conducted under the supervision of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara and under the able command of Mustafa Kemal a new state was born. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922. Last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire left İstanbul aboard the British warship on 17 November 1922. The Turkish Nation acquired its sovereignty and shaped its destiny through the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The Peace Treaty of Lausanne confirmed the sovereign independence of Turkey on an international plane. It is the founding document of the Turkish state. The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, three months after the signing of the Lausanne Treaty. Mustafa Kemal Atatürks motto of Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the Nation is written on the wall of the General Assembly Hall behind the Speaker of the Parliament in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as the basic and founding principle of the Republic of Turkey. As we have elaborated in our AVİM analysis penned on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the Peace Treaty of Lausanne, Lausanne Treaty was concluded within the framework of the Lausanne Conference. The Conference was known officially as The Lausanne Conference on the Questions of the Near East and convened for the purpose of bringing full peace to the East. The three allied states, Britain, France, and Italy, also acting on behalf of Japan, issued an invitation to Turkey to attend the Lausanne Conference. The Lausanne Treaty was signed after the conclusion of two parts. The first part was held between 21 November 1922 and 4 February 1923. The second part was held between the dates of 23 April 1923 and 24 July 1923. The participating states to the Conference can be placed in four broad categories. The first category is comprised of the inviting states. Britain, France, Italy and Japan can be placed in this category. The second category is made up of states that have been invited to all the negotiating sessions. Greece, the Serb-Croat-Sloven State, Romania and the United States fall into this category. The third category consists of states which have been invited only t negotiations regarding specific borders. In this category Soviet Russia and Bulgaria were 1 AVİM Commentary • No: 2020 / 21 • July 2020