Attempts at Rapprochement between Bulgaria and Serbia in the Period 1908 – 1909 through the Eyes of Minister Plenipotentiary Andrey Toshev

Abstract

The article aims to trace the rapprochement negotiations between the Bulgarians and the Serbs in the period 1908 – 1909, initiated by the government officials in Belgrade. Through this maneuver, they are trying to secure their Eastern border, which would allow them to focus on their other pressing foreign policy tasks. An important role in the negotiations conducted during the mentioned period was played by the newly appointed Bulgarian diplomatic representative in the Serbian capital Andrey Toshev. A significant part of the research is based on a thorough study and analysis of reports and telegrams written by him to the ruling Democratic Party government in Bulgaria, preserved in funds 176 K (fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Confessions) and 315 K (fund of the Bulgarian Legation in Belgrade) of the Central State Archives in Sofia. The later works of the experienced Bulgarian diplomat, concerning the period in question, are also examined, in order to take into account his later positions on the subject. The main method used in the article is historical analysis. Тhe author pays special attention to the tendency of the Serbs to demonstrate ambivalent behavior towards their potential political allies in Sofia, which discourages the latter that rapprochement is a realistic scenario.