Détente in the Adriatic. Italian Foreign Policy and the Road to the Osimo Treaties

This scholarly work focuses on the Italian-Yugoslav reconciliation which resulted in the solution of the territorial and political dispute over the possession of Trieste. The Italian - Yugoslav agreements, signed in Osimo in November 1915, had a positive impact on Italy’s general political and economic interests and contributed to great improvement in bilateral relations between Rome and Belgrade “so that it can be pointed out as an example of relations between countries with different regulations and belonging to different political systems”. For the first time in the history of Italian-Yugoslav relations, a true friendship was attained. It was characterized by several important economic, commercial and financial agreements and underlined the crucial role of Yugoslavia in the Balkan and Adriatic political strategy of Italy which aimed at preservation of regional settlements, both political and economic, capable of insuring national interests.