On the Way to Lausanne

The instruction given to the national delegation headed to Lausanne was brief and concise: 'Capitulations can never be accepted. If necessary, we can walk out of the negotiations.'⁴³⁰

In fact, everyone knew that immense difficulties would arise in reaching a solution in this matter. Many countries, present or not present at the conference, had a stake in the continuance of the said privileges. Furthermore, the Western world had been used to these privileges for at least 400 years and all mutual relations were based on them. Therefore, other countries, as they reached an agreement on the subject, wanted the concessions to continue, which made the prospect of completely abolishing the capitulations at Lausanne especially difficult.

İsmet Pasha, the head of the Turkish delegation, was aware of the problem and said, "All the Allies and the US were against us in this matter. But we considered it one of our most crucial issues."⁴³¹