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The Federation-Cardassian Treaty was a treaty signed between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union in 2370. Three years earlier, in 2367, the Federation-Cardassian Armistice of 2367 had been signed between the Federation and Cardassia to end major engagements; this treaty was supposed to be the final end to the hostilities of the Federation-Cardassian War. (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part I", "Journey's End", "Preemptive Strike")

The Treaty was primarily negotiated by Admiral Alynna Nechayev, and mainly dealt with the status of the Federation-Cardassian border, leading to the establishment of the Demilitarized Zone. Within the Zone, neither side was permitted to deploy armaments, or establish military bases. However twice the Cardassians violated the pre-treaty Armistice:

  • In 2367 Benjamin Maxwell tried to expose the fact that the Cardassians were undermining the Peace accord with secret military bases and troop movements. (TNG: "The Wounded")
  • In 2368 the Cardassians destroyed a Federation Colony on Solarion IV and tried to frame a Bajor Resistance Group for the attack. (TNG: "Ensign Ro")

The official border, which ran through the zone, was redrawn requiring the exchange of several worlds. Although the colonists on these worlds were given the option of resettlement, many refused as they felt that their rights had been ignored; Federation colonies which ended up in the Cardassian DMZ included Volan II, Volan III, Soltok IV, and Umoth VIII. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I") One Federation colony, Dorvan V, survived only because it switched from the Federation to the Cardassian Union. At least two Colonies where the Federation settlers were forced to leave their homes were Juhraya and Salva II. The resulting dissatisfaction eventually led to the establishment of the underground insurgency group called Maquis. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I", "The Maquis, Part II"; VOY: "Caretaker", "Prime Factors", "Tattoo", "Investigations") The Maquis fought against both the Federation and the Cardassians in order to live as an independent non-aligned confederation and even had one military base Athos IV (DS9: "Blaze of Glory") and four entire planets of their own in the DMZ: Marva IV, Quatal Prime, Tracken II, and Veloz Prime. (DS9: "For the Uniform")

In mid-2370, Admiral Gupta traveled to Deep Space 9 to investigate Cardassian movements near the Demilitarized Zone. (DS9: "Whispers").

The Dominion was aware of the treaty being signed and Talak'talan mentioned it to Benjamin Sisko in late 2370. The Jem'Hadar considered it to be "a tactical error" on the Federation's part. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")

In his message to the Cardassian government in 2371, Enabran Tain mentioned this treaty and the Bajoran-Cardassian Treaty as the factors which blinded it to the danger of the Dominion. (DS9: "The Die is Cast")

In 2373, the Dominion-Cardassian alliance wiped out all Maquis colonies in the DMZ. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light"; VOY: "Hunters", "Extreme Risk")

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