Turkey marks 97th anniversary of Treaty of Lausanne

ISTANBUL

Turkey on July 24 marked the 97th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, a landmark pact that recognized the modern Turkish state.

Signed on July 24, 1923, the treaty is regarded as the final treaty concluding World War I. The pact also secured the foundation of the modern Republic of Turkey after the War of Independence against the occupying forces of Britain, France, Italy and Greece.

The treaty recognized the boundaries of Turkey as well as the conditions under which non-Muslim minorities would live in the new republic.

“I commemorate the master builder of Lausanne, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, İsmet İnönü and all our national heroes, with respect and gratitude,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), wrote on his Twitter account.

He called the treaty the country’s “title deed.”

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in the Swiss city of Lausanne. The original text of the treaty is in French.