Entente Balkanique (1934)

[Ryujin]

The Balkan Pact was negotiated by Atatürk with Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia. This mutual-defence agreement intended to guarantee the signatories' territorial integrity and political independence against attack by another Balkan state such as Bulgaria or Albania. It countered the increasingly aggressive foreign policy of fascist Italy and the effect of a potential Bulgarian alignment with Nazi Germany. He thought of the Balkan Pact as a medium of balance in the relations with the European countries.Mustafa Kemal was particularly anxious to establish a region of security and alliances in the west of Turkey and in Balkan Europe, which would extend as far as Dobruja.

The Balkan Pact provided for regular military and diplomatic consultations. It was regarded as a significant step forward in consolidating the free world's position in southeast Europe, although it contained no specific military commitments. The importance of the agreement was best displayed in the message which Atatürk sent to the Greek Premier, Ioannis Metaxas:

“The borders of the allies in the Balkan Pact are a single border. Those who covet this border will encounter the burning beams of the sun. I recommend avoiding this. The forces that defend our borders are a single and inseparable force.”

It was signed by GNA on Feb 28. The Greek and Yugoslav Parliaments ratified the agreement a few days after. The unanimously ratified Balkan pact became a reality on 18 May 1935 and lasted until 1940.

The Balkan Pact turned out to be an ineffective organization for reasons that were beyond Atatürk’s control. What he wanted to prevent with the Balkan Pact was realized by Bulgaria’s attempt to put the Dobruja issue into the agenda after a series of international events ended with the Italian invasion of Albania on 7 April 1939. These conflicts spread rapidly, ending with World War II. The goal of Atatürk, to protect southeast Europe, failed with the dissolution of the pact. The only state which arose intact after the war was Atatürk's Republic of Turkey.

[Kamal900]

Kemal Ataturk was a good man.