The Treaty of Poti was a bilateral agreement between the German Empire and the Democratic Republic of Georgia in which the latter accepted German protection and recognition. The agreement was signed, on 28 May 1918, by General Otto von Lossow for Germany and by Foreign Minister Akaki Chkhenkeli for Georgia. Concluded at the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti, the treaty came only two days after Georgia proclaimed independence, becoming the newly independent republic's first-ever international treaty.
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๐ Treaty of Poti in the context of Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; Georgian: แกแแฅแแ แแแแแแก แแแแแแ แแขแแฃแแ แ แแกแแฃแแแแแ, romanized: sakartvelos demok'rat'iuli resp'ublik'a) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to March 1921. Recognized by all major European powers of the time, DRG was created in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917, which led to the collapse of the Russian Empire and allowed territories formerly under Russia's rule to assert independence. In contrast to Bolshevik Russia, DRG was governed by a moderate, multi-party political system led by the Georgian Social Democratic Party (Mensheviks).
Initially, DRG was a protectorate of the German Empire. However, after the German defeat in World War I, the country was partially occupied by British troops, who were sent there to counter a proposed Bolshevik invasion. The British had to leave in 1920 because of the Treaty of Moscow, in which Russia recognized Georgia's independence in exchange for DRG not hosting forces hostile to Russia's interests. Now that Western European powers were no longer present in Georgia, in February 1921 the Bolshevik Red Army proceeded to invade the country, leading to DRG's defeat and collapse by March of that year, with Georgia becoming a Soviet republic. The Georgian Government, led by Prime Minister Noe Zhordania, moved to France where it continued to work in exile. The government-in-exile was recognized by France, Britain, Belgium, and Poland as the only legitimate government of Georgia until the 1930s, when growing Soviet power and political processes in Europe made it impractical to do so indefinitely.