Summary
Avag A. Harutyunyan
Keywords – the Armenian Genocide, Sherif Pasha, the Ottoman Empire, the Kurdish organizations, the United Kingdom, the Armenian issue, the First Republic of Armenia, Paris Conference, K. Sasuni, Armenian-Kurdish agreement of 1919, Poghos Nubar, Hamo Ohandzhanyan, Avetis Aharonyan, the Treaty of Sevres.
After World War I, being deprived of statehood, the Kurds presented their requirements at the Paris peace conference, acting under the dictation of the Turkish authorities of Sherif Pasha. Nobody officially recognized Sherif as the representative of Kurdistan and his memorandum was simply rejected. Thus, it is because of Sherif that the Armenian-Kurdish agreement signed in November 1919 did not led to the actual results.
Armenian and Kurdish problems should be regarded in unity. Both are interrelated and require some balanced solution. The Armenian-Kurdish nowadays distrust is due to unreasonable territorial claims of Kurds.
The Kurds understand that in the absence of the existence of their own state, the existence of the Republic of Armenia is an important geopolitical factor. From the perspective of a full implementation of their maximalist objectives, the strengthening of the Armenian factor is not favorable to the Kurds in Turkey.
Taking into account the historical lessons of the past, it should be stated that the Kurds are untrustworthy neighbors for the Republic of Armenia. Moreover, the possibility of participation of the Kurds on the Turkish side during a military conflict between Armenia and Turkey should never be excluded.