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- 15 & 16 May, 1916
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- <l:h1>The Sykes-Picot Agreement<l:/h1><br>
-
- 1. Sir Edward Grey to Paul Cambon, 15 May 1916<!:hr><p>
-
- I shall have the honour to reply fully in a further note to your
- Excellency's note of the 9th instant, relative to the creation of
- an Arab State, but I should meanwhile be grateful if your
- Excellency could assure me that in those regions which, under the
- conditions recorded in that communication, become entirely French,
- or in which French interests are recognised as predominant, any
- existing British concessions, rights of navigation or development,
- and the rights and privileges of any British religious, scholastic,
- or medical institutions will be maintained.<p>
-
- His Majesty's Government are, of course, ready to give a reciprocal
- assurance in regard to the British area.<p><!:hr>
-
- 2. Sir Edward Grey to Paul Cambon, 16 May 1916<!:hr><p>
-
- I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's
- note of the 9th instant, stating that the French Government accept
- the limits of a future Arab State, or Confederation of States, and
- of those parts of Syria where French interests predominate,
- together with certain conditions attached thereto, such as they
- result from recent discussions in London and Petrograd on the
- subject.<p>
-
- I have the honour to inform your Excellency in reply that the
- acceptance of the whole project, as it now stands, will involve the
- abdication of considerable British interests, but, since His
- Majesty's Government recognise the advantage to the general cause
- of the Allies entailed in producing a more favourable internal
- political situation in Turkey, they are ready to accept the
- arrangement now arrived at, provided that the co-operation of the
- Arabs is secured, and that the Arabs fulfil the conditions and
- obtain the towns of Homs, Hama, Damascus, and Aleppo.<p>
-
- It is accordingly understood between the French and British
- Governments---<p>
-
- 1. That France and Great Britain are prepared to recognize and
- protect an independent Arab State or a Confederation of Arab States
- in the areas (A) and (B) marked on the annexed map, under the
- suzerainty of an Arab chief. That in area (A) France, and in area
- (B) Great Britain, shall have priority of right of enterprise and
- local loans. That in area (A) France, and in area (B) Great
- Britain, shall alone supply advisers or foreign functionaries at
- the request of the Arab State or Confederation of Arab States.<p>
-
- 2. That in the blue area France, and in the red area Great
- Britain, shall be allowed to establish such direct or indirect
- administration or control as they desire and as they may think fit
- to arrange with the Arab State or Confederation of Arab States.
- 3. That in the brown area there shall be established an
- international administration, the form of which is to be decided
- upon after consultation with Russia, and subsequently in
- consultation with the other Allies, and the representatives of the
- Shereef of Mecca.<p>
-
- 4. That Great Britain be accorded (1) the ports of Haifa and
- Acre, (2) guarantee of a given supply of water from the Tigris and
- Euphrates in area (A) for area (B). His Majesty's Government, on
- their part, undertake that they will at no time enter into
- negotiations for the cession of Cyprus to any third Power without
- the previous consent of the French Government.<p>
-
- 5. That Alexandretta shall be a free port as regards the trade of
- the British Empire, and that there shall be no discrimination in
- port charges or facilities as regards British shipping and British
- goods; that there shall be freedom of transit for British goods
- through Alexandretta and by railway through the blue area, whether
- those goods are intended for or originate in the red area, or (B)
- area, or area (A); and there shall be no discrimination, direct or
- indirect against British goods on any railway or against British
- goods or ships at any port serving the areas mentioned.<p>
-
- That Haifa shall be a free port as regards the trade of France, her
- dominions and protectorates, and there shall be no discrimination
- in port charges or facilities as regards French shipping and French
- goods. There shall be freedom of transit for French goods through
- Haifa and by the British railway through the brown area, whether
- those goods are intended for or originate in the blue area, area
- (A), or area (B), and there shall be no discrimination, direct or
- indirect, against French goods on any railway, or against French
- goods or ships at any port serving the areas mentioned.<p>
-
- 6. That in area (A) the Baghdad Railway shall not be extended
- southwards beyond Mosul, and in area (B) northwards beyond Samarra,
- until a railway connecting Baghdad with Aleppo via the Euphrates
- Valley has been completed, and then only with the concurrence of
- the two Governments.<p>
-
- 7. That Great Britain has the right to build, administer, and be
- sole owner of a railway connecting Haifa with area (B), and shall
- have a perpetual right to transport troops along such a line at all
- times.<p>
-
- It is to be understood by both Governments that this railway is to
- facilitate the connexion of Baghdad with Haifa by rail, and it is
- further understood that, if the engineering difficulties and
- expense entailed by keeping this connecting line in the brown area
- only make the project unfeasible, that the French Government shall
- be prepared to consider that the line in question may also traverse
- the polygon Banias-Keis Marib-Salkhab Tell Otsda-Mesmie before
- reaching area (B).<p>
-
- 8. For a period of twenty years the existing Turkish customs
- tariff shall remain in force throughout the whole of the blue and
- red areas, as well as in areas (A) and (B), and no increase in the
- rates of duty or conversion from ad valorem to specific rates shall
- be made except by agreement between the two Powers.<p>
-
- There shall be no interior customs barriers between any of the
- above-mentioned areas. The customs duties leviable on goods
- destined for the interior shall be collected at the port of entry
- and handed over to the administration of the area of destination.<p>
-
- 9. It shall be agreed that the French Government will at no time
- enter into any negotiations for the cession of their rights and
- will not cede such rights in the blue area to any third Power,
- except the Arab State or Confederation of Arab States without the
- previous agreement of His Majesty's Government, who, on their part,
- will give a similar undertaking to the French Government regarding
- the red area.<p>
-
- 10. The British and French Governments, as the protectors of the
- Arab State, shall agree that they will not themselves acquire and
- will not consent to a third Power acquiring territorial possessions
- in the Arabian peninsula, nor consent to a third Power installing
- a naval base either on the east coast, or on the islands, of the
- Red Sea. This, however, shall not prevent such adjustment of the
- Aden frontier as may be necessary in consequence of recent Turkish
- aggression.<p>
-
- 11. The negotiations with the Arabs as to the boundaries of the
- Arab State or Confederation of Arab States shall be continued
- through the same channel as heretofore on behalf of the two Powers.
- <p>
- 12. It is agreed that measures to control the importation of arms
- into the Arab territories will be considered by the two
- Governments.<p>
-
- I have further the honour to state that, in order to make the
- agreement complete, His Majesty's Government are proposing to the
- Russian Government to exchange notes analogous to those exchanged
- by the latter and your Excellency's Government on the 26th April
- last. Copies of these notes will be communicated to your
- Excellency as soon as exchanged.<p>
-
- I would also venture to remind your Excellency that the conclusion
- of the present agreement raises, for practical consideration, the
- question of the claims of Italy to a share in any partition or
- rearrangement of Turkey in Asia, as formulated in article 9 of the
- agreement of the 26th April, 1915, between Italy and the Allies.<p>
-
- His Majesty's Government further consider that the Japanese
- Government should be informed of the arrangement now concluded. <p>
-
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