The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secret treaty between Britain and France in 1916 dividing the Ottoman Empire into zones of control. Russia recognized the agreement but was denied partition due to the Bolshevik revolution. The disclosure of the treaty caused distrust in the West and is seen as a turning point in Arab-West relations.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 was a secret agreement between Britain and France regarding the division of territory in the Middle East after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Although Russia did not sign the treaty, it did recognize and accept the terms of Sykes-Picot, which awarded them parts of a defeated empire. Sykes-Picot was named after its negotiators who were French diplomats in Beirut, Francois Georges Picot and senior British diplomats, Sir Mark Sykes. It is important to note that the Sykes-Picot Agreement was independent and did not take into account any mandates from the League of Nations. The territorial divisions outlined in the Sykes-Picot Agreement were later reaffirmed and ratified at the inter-Allied San Remo conference in April 1920, which further led to mandates from the League of Nations in July 1922.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement, signed on May 16, 1916, divided the Ottoman Empire into several zones of control or zones of influence for Britain, France, Russia and one of the Allied Powers or an international zone extending from Haifa to Gaza . Britain was given areas of Mesopotamia (southern Iraq), today’s Jordan, today’s Kuwait, the northern coast of today’s Saudi Arabia, and an area around Haifa that allowed them access to the seaport. France was to control present-day Syria, present-day Lebanon, northern Iraq and Mosul, Armenia, and parts of south-central Turkey.
Russia’s control was extended to Constantinople, the Bosphorus Strait, and most of the four provinces closest to Caucasian Russia. Some of the British and French areas were under direct control and other areas were only under the influence of Britain and France. It is important to know that although Palestine was never specifically mentioned in Sykes-Picot, the document advocated an independent Arab state. The area of Palestine was under Allied or international control at that time.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Russia was denied partition of Ottoman territory because it fell in the wake of the Bolshevik revolution. Lenin who was the new leader of Russia published a copy of the Sykes-Picot Agreement which ended up being printed in the Manchester Guardian on 26 November 1917. The public disclosure of the Sykes-Picot secret was a great embarrassment to Britain and France .
When Arabs in the Middle East learned of Sykes-Picot, they began to distrust the West. Sykes-Picot is commonly referred to as a turning point in Arab-West relations. Because it did not specifically call for the creation of an independent Arab state, many Arabs feel they have been misled by other treaties and promises made to them.
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