Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI, cilt.13, sa.25, ss.155-181, 2017 (ESCI)
Italy attempted to form a counter bloc, including Turkey, Hungary and Greece against the alliance of 1927 between France and Yugoslavia, which were rivals of Italy in the Balkans. In order to achieve this, primarily, it aspired to gain support of Hungary which is in favour of revisionism in consequence of the unfair and harsh terms of the Trianon Treaty. Budapest, seeking ways to break its international isolation, leaned towards a possible alliance with Rome. Italy was also a determinant factor in the development of the relations between Turkey and Hungary. With the initiatives of the Italian statesmen, Tevfik Rustu Aras, the Turkish foreign minister and Count Istvan Bethlen, the Hungarian premier, had meetings twice in 1928, first in Milano, then in Budapest. In consequence of these meetings, a non-aggression and arbitration pact was signed between the parties in 1929. Afterwards, Lajos Walko, the Hungarian foreign minister, and Bethlen, the Hungarian premier, paid official visits to Ankara in 1930. With the support of Italy, Hungary contributed to the thaw between Athens and Ankara in 1930s with the mediation role between Turkey and Greece who had problems in their bilateral relations. In consequence of these reconciliation efforts between 1928 and 1933, a tripartite bloc aspired by Italy could not have been established. Instead, the Balkan Pact was formed including Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania without any Italian influence in 1934. These developments that can be regarded as against the Italian interests affected the Turkish-Hungarian relations negatively. This study examines the role of Italy in the political relations between Turkey and Hungary in the light of the Hungarian archival sources.