Editing Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (section)

===Territorial cessions in the Caucasus===
At the insistence of [[Talaat Pasha]], the treaty declared that the territory Russia took from the Ottoman Empire in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)]], specifically [[Ardahan]], [[Kars]], and [[Batumi]], were to be returned. At the time of the treaty, this territory was under the effective control of Armenian and Georgian forces.

Paragraph 3 of Article IV of the treaty stated that:
{{blockquote|The districts of Ardahan, Kars, and Batum will likewise and without delay be cleared of Russian troops. Russia will not interfere in the reorganization of the national and international relations of these districts, but leave it to the population of these districts to carry out this reorganization in agreement with the neighbouring states, especially with the Ottoman Empire.}}

[[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] rejected the treaty and instead declared independence. They formed the short-lived [[Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]].