According to the memoirs of Simon Vratsian, the last prime minister of the First Armenian Republic, the Bolsheviks attempted to renegotiate the status of Ani and Kulp and to retain them as part of Soviet Armenia. Ganetsky emphasised the "great historical and scientific value" of Ani for the Armenians and declared Kulp to be an "inseparable part of Transcaucasia". However, Turkey refused to renegotiate the terms agreed upon in the Treaty of Moscow, much to the disappointment of the Soviets. Most of the Armenian territories ceded to Turkey had already been under Turkish military control since the Turkish–Armenian War. The treaty required Turkish troops to withdraw from an area roughly corresponding to the western half of Armenia's present-day Shirak Province, including the city of Aleksandropol (Gyumri).