Britain and France ratified on May, 16, 1916, the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement, negotiated with Russian and Italian assent. The agreement divided most of the Arab lands under the Ottoman Empire into British and French spheres of influence after their expected WWI victory over the Ottoman Empire.
The initial agreement negotiations had been concluded and initialed by Sykes and Picot, on January 3, 1916, effectively demarcated areas of direct control and influence for both nations.
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