THE LONDON CONFERENCE, THE CREATION OF THE A LBANIAN STATE IN 1912 AND THE RELATIONS OF THE BALKAN ALLIES

Abstract

The First Balkan War was by its significance and consequences a far more serious event than it was believed up until today. One of the reasons for this could be the start of the Great War which to the largest extent cast a shadow on everything that came before it. However, at conferences in London in 1912/13, decisions were made that would greatly impact the future of the Balkans and Europe as well. The liberation of the great area of European Turkey by Balkan allies came as a big surprise to European forces. The banishment of Turks from Europe further disturbed Europe, especially Austro-Hungary and Russia. The new boarders in the Balkans were supposed to reflect the power and influence of great powers in their geopolitical combinations. Austro-Hungary managed to defeat Russian influence by creating the Albanian state, which Serbia had to accept. Even such a success did not satisfy Vienna, so they embarked on diplomatic action to persuade Bulgarian representatives to attack former allies and thus break up the Balkan alliance, one of the more serious works of Russian diplomacy in the Balkans. Due to their megalomaniacal aspirations for dominance in the Balkans, Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece and thus caused the second Balkan War.