The “Albanian-Italian Protocol,” a bilateral agreement between representatives of the Albanian and Italian governments, was signed following the Vlora War in 1920. This protocol compelled Italy to recognize the independence of the Albanian state and the inviolability of its territorial integrity. The Albanian-Italian Protocol contained eight points. According to these points, the Italian government renounced its claims to place the province of Vlora under Italian sovereignty, as well as its aspirations to establish the truncated Albanian state under an Italian mandate. The Italian occupying army was to withdraw from Vlora and other parts of the country within a month, with the exception of the island of Sazan. Based on the Albanian-Italian Protocol, other outstanding issues between Albania and Italy were to be examined and resolved in future negotiations between the delegations of both countries. The protocol was a significant achievement for the Albanian government and political forces, as it prevented the realization of Italy’s expansionist plans in Albania, as well as the ambitions of neighboring Balkan monarchies, which had been outlined in the Secret Treaty of London of April 1915 and during the Peace Conference in Paris (1919–1920) by representatives of the major winning powers of the First World War. (In the photo: Italian soldiers in Vlora.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2118.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protektorati_italian_mbi_Shqip%C3%ABri
Graphic processing: AHCF
