were made to the Georgian authorities, which went ignored. Aftermath and assessment The Allied, Georgian and Armenian officials met to discuss a final settlement from 9 to 17 January 1919. Diplomatic and trade relations were resumed between the two republics. Prisoners were also returned on 23 January. The British created a neutral zone, centred in the Borchaly uezd and reaching from Sadakhlu to the prewar border with Armenia. A commissioner general, eventually decided to be Captain A. S. G. Douglas, would administer the zone and have ultimate authority on the number of Armenian and Georgian troops stationed within it. The neutral zone was split into the districts of Uzunlar, Vorontsoka, and Alaverdi. There were 41–43 villages within the neutral zone with large Armenian populations. Consequently, the war had caused Allied perception of both Armenia and Georgia to become more negative. Many argued that independence for the Transcaucasian states would result in conflict and instability for the region. That proved to be a critical time, as their fates would be decided at the Paris Peace Conference a few weeks after the ceasefire. The outcome of the war is disputed. Both the Armenians and Georgians claimed victory. Both sides also felt that they would have had a decisive victory if it had not been for the ceasefire imposed by the Allies. The Armenians had succeeded in forcing the Georgians out of northern Lori, which became a neutral zone eventually split between the two republics. However, their goal had been to seize land up to the Khrami River. The Armenians had advanced during most of the war. Although the Georgians began a counterattack in the final days, they reached a stalemate before the ceasefire. However, the war took place entirely in lands formerly controlled by Georgia. The Armenian army also suffered fewer casualties. The historian Richard G. Hovannisian suggests that the result of the conflict was inconclusive. In Soviet historiography, the war is portrayed as being instigated by "Entente imperialists" and that the Lori neutral zone was commanded by "British imperialists" and "Georgian Mensheviks". See also Armenian–Azerbaijani War Armenia–Georgia border Armenia–Georgia relations References Sources Conflicts in 1918 Wars involving Armenia Wars involving Georgia (country) Russian Civil War 1918 in Armenia Democratic Republic of Georgia First Republic of Armenia Armenia–Georgia (country) relations 1918 in Georgia (country)