ÇËSHTJA E STATUSIT POLITIK TË SHTETIT SHQIPTAR GJATË VITIT 1921
THE QUESTION OF THE POLITICAL STATUS OF THE ALBANIAN STATE DURING 1921

Summary/Abstract: The article focused on the problem of the political status of the Albanian state addressed at the League of Nations and at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris during 1921. Albania’s accession to the League of Nations in December 1920 did not finally resolve the issue of international recognition of the Albanian state. The Yugoslav and Greek representatives stated in the League of Nations’ Council that prior to the formal recognition of the Albanian government, the defining of Albania’s borders with neighboring states had to be realized. They felt that the consideration of these issues was not the responsibility of the League of Nations, but of the Conference of Ambassadors of the Allied Powers. Albania’s representative to the League of Nations, Fan Noli, opposed the request of representatives of neighboring states, which was also backed by some Great Powers. The Italian government was in favor of safeguarding Albania’s political borders in 1913, but it demanded of certain strategic and economic rights of Italy in Albania. The British government leaders thought that Albania should exist as an independent state, but they thought that the borders of the Albanian state should undergo some minor rectifications. In early September 1921, the British government generally acknowledged the recognition of the priority of Italian interests in Albania. The issuance of Great Britain to the Italian government led to the achievement of an Italian-British formula, which was adopted by the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris on 9 November 1921. The decision of the Conference of Great Powers Ambassadors dated November 9th 1921 recognized the independence of the Albanian state, but it confirmed to some extent Italy’s “special rights” in Albania. The borders of southern Albania remained under the Florence Protocol of 1913. According to the decision of the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris, some “minor” border rectifications were foreseen in the territories of Shkodra, Has, Gora and Lin. The Albanian government was forced to accept the November 9 decision of the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris, arguing that delaying a definitive settlement of the border issue with neighboring states could jeopardize the existence of the Albanian state.

• Details
• Contents