Great Britain and the Bulgarian‑Yugoslavian Rapprochement (Fall 1944‑Winter 1945)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.11.2014.30.04Keywords:
British policy in the Balkans in autumn 1944, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, the idea of federation of the South Slavs, The Soviet Union’s approach towards Belgrad and SofiaAbstract
Due to their geographical position in the vicinity of the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, where the main routes to British colonies started, the Balkans were always an important region of Europe for London. Therefore, when towards the end of World War II, Britain’s influence in Greece and Turkey was endangered by the projected union of communist Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, both within the Kremlin’s orbit, the British leadership firmly counteracted. On the one hand, Churchill made an agreement with Stalin on retaining Greece under almost exclusive influence of the Anglo‑Saxon powers. On the other hand, the Foreign Office issued a strong objection to Moscow regarding the concept of federalization of both Southern Slavic states, which, from London’s point of view, would be conducive to the the expansion of communism from those countries and with the main role of the Soviet Union. The British attempts led to breaking the Yugoslavian‑Bulgarian negotiations regarding the federation, which was, paradoxically, beneficial also for Moscow, Sofia, and even Belgrade, which initially made efforts to implement this plan without delay.
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