Warsaw Accord

The Warsaw Accord was signed on 17 March 1922 by Finland, Poland, Estonia and Latvia, but the Finnish parliament failed to ratify it and therefore it never entered into force.[1][2] It was a Polish-led effort to create a regional political and economic alliance as an alternative to both Germany and the Soviet Russia.

Summary

The states agreed not to enter any other treaties to disadvantage of other members (Article 2), to communicate the other treaties to each other (Article 3), to resolve their disputes peacefully (Article 6), and to observe neutrality in case of an unprovoked attack on one of the signatories (Article 7).[3]

Of other issues, Article 1 stipulated reciprocal recognition of their treaties with (Soviet) Russia, Article 6 urged for conclusion of administrative and economic treaties, wherever missing, and Article 5 called for the guarantees of the rights of ethnic minorities. Article 8 set the validity term of 5 years, afterwards automatically extendable annually unless denunciated in advance.[3]

Evaluation

The accord was part of the larger Polish aspirations of creating its sphere of influence in the Baltics.[1] Józef Piłsudski further envisioned a grand Eastern European federation (Intermarium). However, the accord was the extend of Polish success in creating a Baltic bloc.[1][2][4] Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Rudolf Holsti failed to get the accord ratified by the parliament and was served a vote of no confidence. It reflected a growing sentiment that Finland should align with Germany instead of creating regional alliances.[5] Lithuania not only did not participate in the accord, but actively opposed it due to the bitter dispute with Poland over the Vilnius Region.[6] That made the alliance with Poland far less attractive to Latvia and Estonia.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hiden, John; Salmon, Patrick (2014). The Baltic Nations and Europe: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the Twentieth Century. Routledge. pp. 65–66. ISBN 9781317890577.
  2. 1 2 Kirby, David (2014). The Baltic World 1772-1993: Europe's Northern Periphery in an Age of Change. Routledge. p. 287. ISBN 9781317902188.
  3. 1 2 "Political Agreement, between Estonia, Finland, Lithuania and Poland, signed at Warsaw, on March 17, 1922" (PDF). League of Nations Treaty Series. XI. League of Nations. 1922. pp. 168–171.
  4. 1 2 Leonard, Raymond W. (1999). Secret Soldiers of the Revolution: Soviet Military Intelligence, 1918-1933. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 186. ISBN 9780313309908.
  5. ↑ Hiden, John (2002). The Baltic States and Weimar Ostpolitik. Cambridge University Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780521893251.
  6. ↑ Gaigalaitė, Aldona (2017-04-12). "Ministras iš šaunios Zaunių šeimos" (in Lithuanian). Panevėžio miesto savivaldybės viešoji biblioteka. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
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