Sykes-Picot Agreement

The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 is an understanding between the French and British governments about how influence over a large part of the Middle East would be shared between them. In the text published by the Avalon Project, France and Great Britain declare themselves prepared to recognize and protect an independent Arab state or confederation of Arab states in two zones, marked (a) and (b) on an annexed map, under the suzerainty of an Arab chief. In zone (a) France, and in zone (b) Great Britain, is to have priority of right of enterprise and local loans and is alone to supply advisers or foreign functionaries. Beyond that, the blue area is assigned to France and the red area to Great Britain, each free to establish such direct or indirect administration or control as it thinks fit, while a brown area is to receive an international administration to be settled after consultation with Russia, the other allies and the representatives of the Shereef of Mecca. The text also deals with the ports of Haifa and Acre, free-port treatment at Alexandretta and Haifa, railways, keeping the existing Turkish customs tariff in force for twenty years, and a pledge that neither power will acquire territory or a naval base on the Arabian peninsula or allow a third power to do so.