A Fragment from the Ottoman-Russian Relations: “The Negotiations” of the Treaty of Akkerman of 1826

Abstract

This article focuses on the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Akkerman, based on the Ottoman sources. Delivering an ultimatum to the Sublime Porte, Tsar Nicholas I demanded from the Ottoman Empire that she was to dispatch plenipotentiaries to the border in order to “clarify” the stipulations of the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812 through negotiations. The Ottoman Empire which mattered in the political and military affairs of at that time had to yield to this demand and appointed two plenipotentiaries to negotiate with the Russians. At the end of two-month negotiations, Russians made the Ottomans accept, with the exception of some minor issues, all their demands. The Treaty of Akkerman can be described a kind of “the diplomacy of desperation” for the Ottomans. Though Akkerman was apparently a short-lived, it is very important because of the fact that it constitutes foundation for the Treaty of Adrianople of 1829 that was signed between the two empires after the War of 1818-29.

Keywords

Ottoman Empire, Russia, Treaty of Akkerman, Diplomacy, Eastern Question

Citation

Aslantaş, Selim, “A Fragment from the Ottoman-Russian Relations: “The Negotiations” of the Treaty of Akkerman of 1826”, International Relations, Volume 9, Issue 36 (Winter 2013), pp. 149-169.

Affiliations

• Selim ASLANTAŞ, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Hacettepe University, Department of History