Армянский вопрос и великие державы в 1912-1914 годах: политика Великобритании
ИСТОРИЯТОРИЯ
Abstract
In 1912-1914 the Armenian question again became a subject of diplomatic negotiations between the Great Powers and Ottoman Turkey. The policy of Great Britain in the Armenian question introduced in the article is analyzed on basis of the British diplomatic documents and archival original sources, scientific literature and memoirs, the materials of the Armenian and British press. The policy of Great Britain is examined against the background of general development of international situation at Near East, the European Powers’ position and the British public’s attitude towards the western Armenians’ problem. In the period of negotiations on the Armenian question, Great Britain conducted her 29 traditional policy. The British government showed the interest towards the Armenian question as much as it affected her state interests. Great Britain’s relative activity in June-July, 1913 during the negotiations on the Armenian question between six Great Powers (Russia, Great Britain, France, German, Italy, and Austria-Hungary) in Yeny-Kioy (Constantinople) was not durable. From August 1913 to 26-th of January, 1914 during the period of the Russo-German and Russo-Turkish negotiations on the Armenian question, the passive position of Great Britain and her non-interference in the discussions of the problem of reform for Western Armenia was in fact the constituent part of considered policy of the British Government and diplomats. The British Government did not deny and even contributed to the adoption of the Russo-German scheme by the Porte and later supported the Russian proposals because they did not contradict the British interests. Britain’ s conduct was based on real politics and on a desire to achieve more or less stable relations between the Great Powers. The successive analysis of the British policy gave good reasons to affirm that the problem of solution of the question of reforms in Western Armenia in 1912-1914 was not crowned with success because of Great Britain’s position in the given question as well.
