 Complete the following phrase:  This promise did not reflect ground conditions. Talaat Pashas first year as Grand Vizier saw the loss of Jerusalem and Baghdad. However territorial loss in the south also coincided with a crushing diplomatic success with the signing of the Brest Litovsk treaty on 10 March 1918, negotiated by only Talaat himself, resulting in the return of Kars, Batumi, and Ardahan to Ottoman rule after their loss forty years ago. Another treaty with the Caucasian states signed in Batum strengthened the Ottomans position in a future 