Balkan Pact

1934-1941StatusMilitary allianceHistorical eraInterwar9 February 19346 April 1941

Events leading to World War II
1910s Treaty of Versailles 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1919 Polish–Soviet War 1919–1920 Polish–Lithuanian War 1919–1920
1920s Treaty of Trianon 1920 Treaty of Rapallo 1920 Franco-Polish alliance 1921 March on Rome 1922 Corfu incident 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr 1923–1925 Mein Kampf 1925 Second Italo-Senussi War 1923–1932 Dawes Plan 1924 Locarno Treaties 1925 Young Plan 1929 Great Depression 1929
1930s Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931 Pacification of Manchukuo 1931–1942 January 28 incident 1932 Geneva Conference 1932–1934 Defense of the Great Wall 1933 Battle of Rehe 1933 Nazis' rise to power in Germany 1933 Tanggu Truce 1933 Italo-Soviet Pact 1933 Inner Mongolian Campaign 1933–1936 German–Polish declaration of non-aggression 1934 Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance 1935 Soviet–Czechoslovakia Treaty of Mutual Assistance 1935 He–Umezu Agreement 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement 1935 December 9th Movement Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–1936 Remilitarization of the Rhineland 1936 Arab revolt in Palestine 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 Italo-German "Axis" protocol 1936 Anti-Comintern Pact 1936 Suiyuan campaign 1936 Xi'an Incident 1936 Second Sino-Japanese War 1937–1945 USS Panay incident 1937 Anschluss Mar. 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania Mar. 1938 May Crisis May 1938 Battle of Lake Khasan July–Aug. 1938 Bled Agreement Aug. 1938 Undeclared German–Czechoslovak War Sep. 1938 Munich Agreement Sep. 1938 First Vienna Award Nov. 1938 German occupation of Czechoslovakia Mar. 1939 Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine Mar. 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania Mar. 1939 Slovak–Hungarian War Mar. 1939 Final offensive of the Spanish Civil War Mar.–Apr. 1939 Danzig Crisis Mar.–Aug. 1939 British guarantee to Poland Mar. 1939 Italian invasion of Albania Apr. 1939 Soviet–British–French Moscow negotiations Apr.–Aug. 1939 Pact of Steel May 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol May–Sep. 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact Aug. 1939 Invasion of Poland Sep. 1939
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The Balkan Pact, or Balkan Entente, was a treaty signed by Greece, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia on 9 February 1934^[1] in Athens,^[2] aimed at maintaining the geopolitical status quo in the region after the end of World War I. To present a united front against Bulgarian designs on their territories, the signatories agreed to suspend all disputed territorial claims against one another and their immediate neighbours following the aftermath of the war and a rise in various regional irredentist tensions.

Other nations in the region that had been involved in related diplomacy refused to sign the document, including Italy, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Soviet Union. The pact became effective on the day that it was signed and was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on 1 October 1934.^[3]

The Balkan Pact helped to ensure peace between the signatory nations but failed to end regional intrigues. Although the pact was designed against Bulgaria, on 31 July 1938, its members signed the Salonika Agreement with Bulgaria, which repealed the clauses of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Treaty of Lausanne that had mandated demilitarised zones at Bulgaria's borders with Greece and Turkey, which allowed Bulgaria to rearm.

With the 1940 Treaty of Craiova signed by Romania under Nazi Germany's pressure, and after the 1941 Axis invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece, the pact effectively ceased to exist and Turkey remained as its only signatory that had avoided any conflict during WWII, even after joining the Allies in 1945.

See also

• Balkan Pact (1953)
• Latin Axis (World War II)
• Polish–Romanian alliance
• Little Entente
• Croatian–Romanian–Slovak friendship proclamation

References

External links

• Text of the pact
• Romania and the Balkan Pact (1934-1940)
• The Hidden Side of the Balkan Pact Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
• BALKAN PACT AND TURKEY