The British military did not either, and the top general on the scene, Sir Charles Harington, refused to relay an ultimatum to the Turks because he counted on a negotiated settlement.

The Conservatives in Britain's coalition government refused to follow Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who with Winston Churchill was calling for war.

[3] The Turkish troops had recently defeated Greek forces and recaptured İzmir (Smyrna) on 9 September and were advancing on Constantinople in the neutral zone established by the Armistice of Mudros and Treaty of Sèvres.

On September 10, the War Office began to express concerns over the viability of the Greek Army and urged a British withdrawal to Gallipoli, but Harington rejected the advice because he believed such an attack was not likely and that the small force could be an effective deterrent.

[4] In an interview published on Daily Mail, 15 September 1922, leader of the Turkish national movement Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) stated that "Our demands remain the same after our recent victory as they were before.

On 18 September, on his return to London, Curzon pointed out that this would enrage the Prime Minister of France, Raymond Poincaré, and left for Paris to attempt to smooth things over.

Churchill published a pro-war manifesto warning of a massive Turkish offensive into Europe undoing the result of the war, which was widely lambasted and embarrassed the British government.

Lloyd George was warned by the Foreign Office, the Imperial General Staff, and even former Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch against supporting the Greeks but ignored them.

[9]: 131  By contrast, the Conservative leader Arthur Meighen in a speech in Toronto criticized King and declared: "When Britain's message came, then Canada should have said, 'Ready, aye ready, we stand by you.

Nonetheless, King made his point: the Canadian Parliament would decide the role that Canada would play in external affairs and could diverge from the British government.

This convinced Kemal to accept the opening of armistice talks and on 28 September he told the British that he had ordered his troops to avoid any incident at Chanak, nominating Mudanya as the venue for peace negotiations.