Under the Armistice of Mudros, ending World War I in the Ottoman Empire, the Allied powers were allowed to occupy the forts of the Straits in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus.

Having achieved victories over occupying powers in Anatolia, Turkish forces were advancing on the neutral zone of the Straits.

On 5 September 1922, Mustafa Kemal Pasha asserted the Turkish claim to East Thrace (Trakya).

On 19 September, Britain decided to deny Constantinople and Thrace to the Turkish nationalists, but France, Yugoslavia, Italy and the British dominions objected to another war.

French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré tried to persuade the Turks to respect the neutral zone.