Journal Analele Banatului N.S. Archaeology-History

Hadrian Gorun

Revendicările României privind Transilvania, Banatul şi Bucovina în perioada neutralităţii (1915). Mărturii documentare franceze şi româneşti / The revendications of Romania regarding Transylvania, Banat and Bucovina during the period of neutrality (1915). French and Romanian documentary evidences.

Jan. 1, 2012

Abstract

! is study deals with the negotiations between Romanian governement and Romanian diplomats on one hand and the diplomacy of the Entente on the other hand in the year 1915, during Romanian neutrality in the First World Confl agration. In fact, we attempted to underscore the the discussions between Romanian government and the French and Russian authorities on the topic of the Romanian rights regarding Romanian territories under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. As a result of these negotiations the Entente had to acknowledge the Romanian rights on Transylvania, Banat, Bucovina and Maramureş. ! e hard diplomatic eff orts of the Romanian men of state were designed to obtain the borders considered as essential in order to secure the protection of the country. At the very beginning the negotiations were very diffi cult because the Entente refused to agree all claims of the cabinet from Bucharest. ! e discussions became even more diffi cult because Romania had to deal directly with the Russians. ! e authorities from Petrograd hardly accepted teh Romanian wishes. ! e Governement leaded by Ion I. C. Brătianu insisted that Russia should admit the settlement of the Romanian border on Prut river. ! e President of the Romanian Council of ministers believed that the natural borders were better and, of course, more suitable than the conventional borders. First, Petrograd agreed the settlement of the frontier on Siret river. But in the end, due to the eff orts of the Romanian diplomacy and to friendly attitude of the Quai d’Orsay and of the Government from Paris, the Russians had to approve the Romanian claim during the summer of 1915. In Transylvania and Banat, Brătianu’s government intended to settle as frontiers the rivers Tisa and respectively Danube. Romania’s wish was to receive all the region of the Banat of Timișoara. Initially, agreed that Romania should obtain only a part of Torontal district. The rest of this zone was to be given to Serbia. Later, the French and Russian governments approved the cession of the whole district to Romania. Finaly, France and Russia consented to give to Romania all the region of Banat. So they answered gradually to the Romanian claims. Thus, the two parts, the Entente and Romania reached a modus vivendi after a long diplomatic activity. Analysing the evolution of the events, we must also underscore the important role of the French diplomacy. Many times, the French helped Romania to receive from Russia all that Brătianu and his ministers asked for. So, sometimes the French diplomats acted as genuine defenders of the national and territorial Romanian interests.