The Establishment of North-Eastern Borders of Romania: International and Support for Incorporation of the Bessarabia Lands into the Kingdom (end of 1919 — the 1st half of 1920)

The foreign policy of Romania throughout the first decades of the 20th century was neither unplanned nor
spontaneous. It was pursued by the Kingdom’s leadership within the framework of the idea of establishing
the “Greater Romania”. Generally, the policy of official Bucharest during the war period and the period
of the formation of the Versailles system of international relations was concentrated on defending national
interests and gaining the status of a regional leader in the Balkans. The purpose of the article is to analyse
the political struggle around the “Bessarabia” issue at the Paris Peace Conference throughout December 1919 — March 1920. Indeed, exactly this time frame became decisive for the Romanian Kingdom in terms of the recognition
by the international community of its sole priority to rule Bessarabia. Great amount of relevant information and
materials enabled authors of the article to analyse a comparatively short-term period of proceedings of the Paris
Conference as it clearly demonstrates the tense atmosphere of the process of creating a new geopolitical map
of post-war Europe. As a whole, Alexandru Vaida-Voevod’s activities in solving the “Bessarabia” problem had
positive outcomes for Romania. On March 12th, the National Assembly directed the decision on this issue
to the government in Bucharest. Taking into account preliminary conclusions and “yearning” of Bessarabia
population the Allies in general declared for the reunification of Bessarabia and Romania. At the same time,
they demanded that official Bucharest guarantee legitimate interests of Bessarabia on the same conditions
as for other parts of the Kingdom.
Key words: Paris Peace Treaty, “Bessarabia” issue, the Entente, diplomacy, National Assembly, Alexandru Vaida
Voevod, Romania