It shames us to be sitting at the same table as a man who would ask us to condone murder and massacre, not only of our own people, but of free men-at-arms, some of them his countrymen, that have taken up our cause. And to think that your people were once though of as friends of Rome and that it is through your arrogance that you brought this calamity upon yourself... We will not even discuss this gratuitous slaying of men. We even have to wonder how come it is the Caliph allows such talks to be held here.

As for the Turko-Armenian demands, they are outrageous. You would reduce us to a state weaker then we were before a war that has been a one-sided victory for Rome. And yet we offer to compensate you when it is we who should be demanding compensation! We would demand that you give us reasons to treat you with such generosity! Twice the Turks betrayed our trust, while we have held our word to them. And yet they ask us to prove ourselves.

But for the purpose of these negotiations, we will take your demands and extrapolate upon them in good faith.


Compensation comes for loss of land, not moral reparations. As such, if the Turks and Armenians insist on keeping imperial settlements, they will not receive any money. The settlements they keep would replenish their coffers and those we lose would impact upon our budget. The numbers we proposed were in consideration of our territorial gains, while the numbers they proposed are higher then ours and take no note of our capacity for payment. War is less costly then their present offers.

The towns of Herakleia and Attaleia are not even open for discussion. They belong to the Empire and should be returned if they were captured.

We captured Ikonion because the Turks willingly pulled out while Antioxeia was transfered to us by the Crusaders. We did not destroy any buildings in those settlements and simply gathered the riches left behind by the enemy. If we are to cede those cities, we ask to be compensated for it in a fair way. We leave it to the discretion of the Turks and Armenians to propose an acceptable offer. However, we would note that such an offer could be to relinquish their claims on Trapezon and Sinope, to which we would renounce to our claim to Seleukeia and Cilicia.

Demilitarization, agreed upon by all parties, will have to be clarified for each region once everything is concluded.

The Armenian demands to send a spy is somewhat ridiculous. We would have no way of knowing if they did or didn't and do not feel it necessary to discuss it. If they foment rebellion in our settlements, we will consider it an act of aggression. Otherwise, what their agents do is none of our business.


Should these terms be acceptable, we would be ready to establish formal relations with the Sultanate, the Armenians and the Kingdom of Georgia. And if tensions eased in the region, we might eventually, out of good will rather then through a binding agreement, help our neighbors rebuild from this war. We will also note that, leaving the Armenians in Cilicia, handing Ikonion back to the Sultanate and freeing the northern imperial settlements would reestablish the status quo in the region, which was the basis of our first negotiations with the Sultanate.