His Majesty The King of Yugoslavia, the President of the Republic of Greece, His Majesty The King of Romania and the President of the Republic of Turkey, in a wish to contribute to the consolidation of peace in the Balkans,

Inspired by the spirit of accommodation and conciliation which was of decisive importance in the elaboration of the Kellogg-Briand Pact and the adoption of the decisions of the League of Nations relating to it,

Strongly determined to ensure the respect for the already existing treaty obligations and the maintenance of the territorial order now established in the Balkans,

Have decided to conclude a

PACT OF BALKAN AGREEMENT

and, for this purpose, designated as their Plenipotentiaries:

His Majesty The King of Yugoslavia:
His Excellency Mr. Bogoljub Jevtić, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

The President of the Republic of Greece:
His Excellency Mr. Dimitrios Maximos, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

His Majesty The King of Romania:
His Excellency Mr. Nicola Titulescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

The President of the Republic of Turkey:
His Excellency Mr. Rushdi Bey, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Who, after exchanging their Full Powers which were found to be in good and prescribed form, agreed on the following provisions:

Article 1

Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and Turkey shall mutually guarantee the security of their Balkan borders.

Article 2

The High Contracting Parties undertake to reach agreement on measures which must be taken if cases should arise that could affect their interests as defined by the present Agreement. They assume the obligation not to take any political action towards any other Balkan country which is not a signatory to this Agreement, without a prior mutual notification and not to assume any political obligation towards any other Balkan country without the consent of the other Contracting Parties.

Article 3

The present Agreement shall come into force upon its signing by all the Contracting Powers and shall be ratified within the shortest possible time. The Agreement shall be open to any Balkan country for accession which shall be taken into favourable consideration by the Contracting Parties and shall come into effect as soon as the other signatory countries notify their consent.

In witness whereof of the afore-mentioned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Pact. Done in Athens, this ninth February one thousand nine hundred thirty four, in four copies, one copy having been handed to each High Contracting Party.

(L.S.) (signed) B.D. Jevtić
(L.S.) (signed) D. Maximos
(L.S) (signed) N. Titulescu
(L.S) (signed) Dr. Rushdi Bey

The above Pact of Balkan Agreement was ratified by His Majesty King Alexander I, King of Yugoslavia, in Belgrade on 16 June 1934, Conf. No. 13991 - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belgrade, 23 June 1934.

Sources: Službene novine (Official Gazette), 1934, No. 145-XXXVIII.
MOFA Treaty Collection, 1934, vol. No. 7, pp. 67-68.
Recueil des traites SDN, v. CLIII, p. 153.
Martens, NRG, 3-eme serie, v. XXIX, p. L. at v. XXX, p. 325.

Note: - The cooperation among the Balkan States which conduced to the conclusion of the Pact of Balkan Agreement (or the Balkan Entente) had started at the Balkan conferences (1930-1933) preceded by bilateral pacts of friendship and peaceful solution of disputes in accordance with the policy and principles of the League of Nations. These pacts were concluded between Romania and Greece and Romania and Turkey (1928), between Yugoslavia and Greece (1929) and between Greece and Turkey (1930), then again between Greece and Turkey, and Yugoslavia and Turkey (1933). The first conference was held in Athens in October 1930; the second took place in Istanbul and Ankara in October 1931; the third in Bucharest in October 1932, and the fourth in Salonica in November 1934. The purpose of these conferences was, inter alia, the conclusion of the all-Balkan treaty on non-aggression and arbitration on the basis of the preservation of the status quo in regard to territorial questions within the framework of theLeague of Nations. The first conference set up the Permanent Committee for the drafting of the Pact under which war would be proclaimed illegal. But, it became clear at the last conference that it is not possible to arrive at an all-Balkan political agreement because Albania, under the influence of Italy and Bulgaria, due to its persistent policy of revanchism, refused to recognize the territorial status quo and did not, along with Italy and Bulgaria, accede to the the Pact (Entente) signed by Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania and Turkey. This Pact had a support in the French policy and its period of validity was not limited. It was complemented by a protocol which established the obligations in mutual relations, accepted the definition of the notion of aggressor, established in London (with the USSR) the previous year. Later on, Bulgaria claimed that the signatories of the Balkan Agreement alsi signed a secret protocol relating to the joint military intervention against the armed bands supported by Bulgaria. Turkey issued a statement that the Pact was not in contradiction with its treaties with the USSR.