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The Treaty of London, also known as the London Pact (Patto
di Londra, in Italian), was negotiated secretly by three major
Allied Powers (France, Russia, Great Britain) and Italy. Since
the Italian territorial demands included the Yugo-Slavic lands
under Austria-Hungary, the negotiations had to involve also the
future borders of two cobelligerant Allied states, the kingdoms
of Serbia and Montenegro.
However, the territorial promises to
the latter were fairly precise only along the areas assigned to
Italy. Thus, the Kingdom of Serbia was promised Split (Spalato,
in Italian), the coast and islands south of Krka to Dubrovnik
(Ragusa), and peninsula Peljesac (Sabbioncello). The Kingdom of
Montenegro was assigned Dubrovnik, and the coast south to the
Albanian port San Giovanni di Medua. Also, but less precisely,
Serbia was promised Bosnia-Herzegovina, Srem, Backa, Slavonia
(this one against the Italian objections), and some unspecified
areas of Albania (to be divided between Serbia, Montenegro, and
Greece). The Italians insisted, and the Allies agreed, that the
question of the Croatian coast between Zadar (Zara) and Istra
(Istria) should be settled after the war. They also insisted
that Serbia should not be informed about the agreements. This,
however, the Allies overruled by sending to the Government of
Serbia an official Note, dated August 4, 1915, confirming the
postwar territorial claims of Serbia and Montenegro.
At the Paris Peace Conference, the Italians insisted that
they will negotiate only with their wartime allies Serbia and
Montenegro, not with defeated enemies included in delegation of
the new state of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In particular they
were incensed that three members of the delegation were former
Austro-Hungarian deputies (Croats Ante Trumbic, Josip Smodlaka,
and the Slovene Otokar Ribarz), and that one (the Slovene Ivan
Zolger) had served as Minister in the wartime Austrian Cabinet.
But the Italians finally gave in, primarily under the pressure
of the then US President Woodrow Wilson.
Rene Albrecht-Carrie, ITALY AT THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE. 1966
Ivo J. Lederer, YUGOSLAVIA AT THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE. 1963
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