Soviet territorial claims to Turkey during World War II



Soviet Union with the leadership of Joseph Stalin, presented territorial claims to Turkey in 1945. During the period of 1945 and 1953, there were presented 3 different plans.
 * First plan included the territory of former Kars Oblast and Surmalu uyezd of Erivan Governorate (city of Iğdır and surroundings) that were part of the Russian Empire from 1878 until 1918 and then part of the Democratic Republic of Armenia in 1918–1920.
 * Second plan included the Alashkert plain and the city of Bayazet added to Kars and Surmalu.
 * Third plan included most of East Turkey (Erzurum, Van, Moush, Bitlis) added to Kars, Surmalu and Alashkert plain.

It was also known that the Soviet government wanted to settle those areas with Armenian repatriates from diaspora. In three years (1946–1948) after the World War II about 150,000 ethnic Armenians (Western Armenians and their descedants) from Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt,and France had repatriated to Soviet Armenia.

With Turkey joining NATO and accepting the Marshall Plan, the United States obliged to protect Turkey in the case of a Soviet Union.