Chapter 207 Meeting of Prime Ministers of Three Countries

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Seeing the visiting Prime Minister Venizelos, who was anxious, Constantine did not dare to neglect and immediately handed the reins to Sophie.

"What happened?" Constantine and Venizelos strolled on the tree-lined path in the manor. Seeing Venizelos's worried look, he asked.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs just received news that the Bulgarian Prime Minister implicitly revealed to Ambassador Brügge in Sofia that Bulgaria and Serbia have secretly formed an alliance," Venizelos said with a serious face.

Constantine was stunned and could not figure out the Bulgarians' intention for a while. He asked anxiously: "Then, what is the content of the treaty signed by both parties?"

It was already March 1912, and the battle for Libya between the Ottomans and the Italians was still going on.

Although the three Balkan countries all had the intention to form an alliance, in order to compete for nominal dominance, Greece and Bulgaria had been in a stalemate, hoping that the other side would succumb to their will.

Affected by this, the diplomatic contacts between the two sides have been stuck here and cannot move forward.

"After many negotiations, the two sides have signed an alliance: the two sides guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of their respective countries. If one of them is invaded by other countries, the other side should fully support it."

"The two sides agreed to attack Turkey when the time is right; when attacking Turkey to the south, defend Austria in the north."

"The two sides also reached a consensus on the dismemberment of the Macedonian region, and marked the disputed areas. It was agreed that when dividing the disputed areas, Russian Tsar Nicholas II would be selected as the arbitrator."

Constantine looked gloomy and was very dissatisfied with the treaty signed privately by the two countries. The alliance between the two countries did not consider Greece's territorial claims at all.

"What is the purpose of Bulgaria leaking the treaty between the two countries to Ambassador Brügge?" Constantine was puzzled.

"The intention of this move is obvious, which is to put pressure on us. The Bulgarians know very well that without Greece joining, their small group may not be a match for the Ottoman Empire, even though the Ottoman Empire's energy is now attracted by Italy," Venizelos said unhappily.

Obviously, this little trick can't hide from the sharp eyes of the prime minister who is proficient in diplomacy.

Noticing that Venizelos hesitated, Constantine said: "Apart from the secret alliance between the two countries, is there anything else?"

"The Italians are eager to end the war, but the military operations in Libya are not going well. In order to force the Ottoman authorities to give up resistance as soon as possible, the Italian Navy occupied the Dodecanese Islands and sent warships to bombard the cities of Asia Minor along the Aegean Sea," Venizelos said melancholy.

The Dodecanese Islands, which means twelve islands in Greek, are mainly inhabited by Greeks and are currently under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

The Dodecanese Islands are located in the southwest of Asia Minor, close to the Asia Minor Peninsula, and their geographical location is very important.

After the Italians controlled the Dodecanese Islands, they strengthened Italy's influence on the Aegean Sea.

Constantine was unhappy when he heard the news, but he didn't have any good solutions.

Although the Dodecanese Islands are basically inhabited by Greeks, they belong to the Ottoman Empire. Now Italy has seized control of the islands from the Ottoman Empire. Although Greece is dissatisfied, it can't do anything about it.

Greece's naval strength is too weak and is not a match for the Italian Navy at all.

Moreover, the situation in the Balkans is on the verge of breaking out, and Greece is not allowed to focus on the Aegean coast.

In terms of reason and emotion, the Balkans are a higher priority choice.

"Don't delay the alliance. You should immediately start diplomatic contacts with Bulgaria and Serbia to discuss the alliance," Constantine said.

After all, according to a rough estimate by the Greek government, the number of Greek expatriates in the Balkans will not be less than 4 million.

This number is almost the same as the current population of Greece!

Constantine could not help but pay attention.

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In May 1912, after several months of delay, the three countries finally decided to hold a joint meeting of the prime ministers of the three countries in Bodrigoca, the capital of Montenegro, to discuss the suitability of the three countries to form an alliance.

Prime Minister Pašić of Serbia, Prime Minister Gesuf of Bulgaria, and Prime Minister Venizelos of Bulgaria will gather in Bodrigoca, the capital of Montenegro.

Bodrigoca, Levišta Hotel

In the conference hall, the prime ministers of the three countries had their first contact.

The prime ministers of the three countries sat around a round table and were discussing the alliance.

"Serbia needs Kosovo and northern Macedonia. In addition, we hope that Serbia can get northern Albania so that Serbia can get an outlet to the Adriatic Sea," said Serbian Prime Minister Pašić.

As a landlocked country, Serbia is really fed up with the lack of coastal commercial ports.

Since independence, due to inconvenient transportation, both imports and exports have been restricted by neighboring countries, which has led to slow development of Serbia's business and trade, seriously affecting Serbia's economic development.

Serbia must obtain an outlet for shipping and trade in this war, which is the unanimous opinion of Serbia.

Venizelos had a gloomy face and sneered, "Haha," "Making territorial claims against Greece? Prime Minister Pasic, are you sure you are not here to declare war on Greece?"

Pasic probably thought that Greece was alone and wanted to cut some meat from Greece.

After that, Venizelos ignored the whimsical Pasic and turned to Prime Minister Gesuf and asked patiently, "So, what is Bulgaria's territorial claim?"

"Bulgaria must get the Macedonian region including Thessaloniki," Prime Minister Gesuf said bluntly, pointing at the Balkan map hanging on the wall.

Although Bulgaria is not a landlocked country and is not as miserable as Serbia, it is not much better.

All of Bulgaria's seaports are located on the Black Sea coast, which means that all Bulgarian import and export ships, except for trade in the Black Sea region, must pass through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.

This situation makes Bulgaria's overseas trade extremely vulnerable to the influence of the Ottoman Empire.

Take the current situation for example. Since the start of the Italo-Turkish War, Bulgaria has frequently mobilized its troops on the Bulgarian-Austrian border, making no secret of its desire for the Ottoman Empire's territory.

Out of retaliation, the Ottoman Empire has banned Bulgarian ships from passing through the strait.

Bulgaria is naturally salivating over Thessaloniki, an important seaport and transportation hub in the Aegean Sea, and is determined to get it.

After listening to the demands of the two countries, Venizelos was furious. According to the territorial division claims of Bulgaria and Serbia, the Ottoman Empire's territory in the Balkan Peninsula has almost been divided up, and Greece has nothing to do with it.

According to this division method, Greece's expansion to the Balkan Peninsula is completely blocked.

Venizelos' face was ashen, and he said sternly: "I need to remind the two prime ministers that your demands should be more reasonable."

"In addition, among the three countries, Greece has the strongest comprehensive strength, and Greece's territorial demands should be respected."

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