At the beginning of the 20th century, Armenians wanted to occupy Nakhchivan in order to seize more land. This would have closed the only corridor that strengthened Turkey's ties with Azerbaijan and, consequently, with Central Asia.

Even after the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan, as a result of aggressive actions of the Dashnaks, tensions remained in Nakhchivan.

With the help of XI Red Army on July 28, 1920 Soviet power was established in Nakhchivan and Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee was created as the supreme authority of the republic. On August 10, Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee sent a letter to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Azerbaijan SSR Nariman Narimanov. The letter stated: “By the decision of the overwhelming majority of the people of Nakhchivan, Nakhchivan remains an integral part of the Azerbaijan SSR”.

The Nakhchivan issue occupied an important place in the Russia-Armenia and Turkey-Armenia negotiations. Armenia made political maneuvers between Russia and Turkey and tried to take advantage of their relations under the created conditions. As for Russia, although it followed the line of rapprochement with Turkey, it continued to protect Armenians. Armenia, on the other hand, hoped most of all that Russia would realize its intentions regarding Nakhchivan and other territories. On December 2, 1920, Armenia signed an agreement with Russia and Turkey. According to the military-political agreement between the RSFSR and Soviet Armenia, the incorporation of the former Iravan province into Armenia was unconditionally accepted by the Soviet government. The Gyumri (Alexandropol) agreement concluded between Turkey and Armenia was not accepted by Armenia at the insistence of Russia. However, according to this agreement, in order to prevent the Nakhchivan region from falling into the hands of the enemy, it was decided to “establish local self-government in this area for a period of time under the protection of Turkey”. The situation in the world, in the international relations between the countries in the 20s of the last century, finally led to certain agreements as well as the rapprochement between Turkey and Russia. The Turkish government intensified its activity to establish diplomatic relations with Russia and sign a treaty of friendship between the two countries, and for this purpose, a delegation headed by Bekir Sami arrived in Moscow. As a result of the negotiations, a draft Soviet-Turkish contract was prepared. It was agreed that future Russian-Turkish negotiations would be held in Baku. However, later the RSFSR People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs G. Chicherin said that the conference would be held in Moscow and representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia would also take part in it.

Turkey did not agree with this proposal. Turkey wanted to conclude separate agreements with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. Moreover, Turkey stated that they had no contentious issues with Azerbaijan. As for Armenia, Turkey considered the Gyumri (Alexandropol) agreement valid and did not want to abandon it.

In February 1921, a diplomatic delegation led by Yusif Kamal, the new Foreign Minister of the Ankara government, arrived in Moscow and began negotiations. The delegation also included Ali Fuad and Dr. Reza Nurai. On the Russian side, G. Chicherin and J. Gorhmazov, a member of the RSFSR, took part in the negotiations. The discussions were very tense, sometimes even these negotiations were disrupted. In addition to a number of issues, the negotiations paid special attention to the Nakhchivan issue. Turkey attached great importance to this issue, as Nakhchivan was the closest in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations.

The representative of Azerbaijan Behbud agha Shahtakhtinsky also participated in the Moscow negotiations and played an important role in achieving a successful result. Thus, in a letter he sent to Lenin on March 1, 1921, he expressed his concern about the future of Nakhchivan, Zangezur and Nagorno-Karabakh territories, referred in the letter to the national composition and geography of these districts, made useful suggestions on border issues in the South Caucasus and especially in the Nakhchivan region. After reading it, Lenin sent the letter to the Politburo to familiarize himself with these suggestions. Shakhtakhtinsky's letter was considered on March 16 with the participation of Stalin, Chicherin and others, and a decision was made to grant Nakhchivan the status of autonomy within Azerbaijan. The referendum held in Nakhchivan in January 1921 had a great influence on this decision.

All this was reflected in the Moscow Agreement. The conclusion of the negotiations, which lasted almost a month, was reflected in the RSFSR-Turkey Treaty signed on March 16, 1921. The Moscow Agreement consisted of 16 articles and 3 annexes.

The third article and Annex I (B) of the Moscow agreement were directly related to Nakhchivan. According to Article 3 of the agreement, it was mutually agreed that Nakhchivan province is an autonomous territory within Azerbaijan under the protection of any third country within the boundaries specified in Annex I (B) of the agreement. Annex I (B) entitled “Territory of Nakhchivan” defined the boundaries of the area: “Ararat Station - Saray - Bulag Mountains - Komurledag - Sayatdag - Gurdgulag Village - Hamasur Mountain - Height (8022) - Kukudag and the eastern administrative boundary of the former Nakhchivan district”.

Thus, despite the pro-Armenian stance of the Russian government and the hypocritical policy of Armenian communists, Nakhchivan was retained as part of Azerbaijan thanks to the resolute and irrevocable will of the people of Nakhchivan, the just position of Turkey and the efforts of the outstanding diplomat Behbud-aga Shahtakhtinsky.

The signing of the Treaty of Moscow is of great historical significance. First of all, this agreement resolved the existing problems between Russia and Turkey. Russia and Turkey came together in a close alliance. The Moscow Agreement protected the integrity of Azerbaijan and clarified the issue of territorial belonging of Nakhchivan. According to this agreement, Nakhchivan remained within the borders of Azerbaijan. At the same time, the reflection of Nakhchivan's status in this agreement was of great political significance and created the basis for future autonomy.

Nakhchivan's acquisition of autonomous status within Azerbaijan was formalized indefinitely by the international Moscow Agreement. The indefinite conclusion of this agreement increases its historical significance.

Recommended literature:

1. Cəbiyeva, Təranə Kommuna qızı. Səlahiyyətli səfir: [İbrahim Əbilov] / T. K. Cəbiyeva ; ön sözün müəl. T. Kərimli. - Bakı : MTR Group, 2014. - 256 s.
2. Atnur, İbrahim Ethem. Osmanlı idarəçiliyindən Sovet idarəçiliyinə qədər Naxçıvan : 1918-1921 / İ. E. Atnur ; tərc. Q. Əsgərova ; ön sözün müəl. İ. Ə. Həbibbəyli ; elmi red. V. Məmmədov ; Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası Ali Məclisi. - Naxçıvan : Əcəmi NPB, 2013. - 496 s.