Treaty of BjörköArt. XIV. It is agreed that the zone defined in paragraph I of
Article VII of the Franco-English Convention of 8th April, 1904
relating to Morocco and Egypt begins on the coast thirty kilo-
metres south-east of Melilla.
Art. XV. In the case where the denunciation provided for
under paragraph III of Article IV of the Franco-English relating
to Morocco and Egypt were to have taken place, the French and
Spanish Governments will act in concert for the establishment
of an economic administration especially in keeping with their
reciprocal interests.
Art. XVI. The present Convention will be published when
the two governments shall judge, by mutual agreement, that it
can be done without disadvantages.
In any case, it will be able to be published by one of the two
governments at the expiration of its first period of applica-
tion—a period defined by paragraph III of Article II.
In testimony whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have
signed the present Convention and have apposed to it their
seals.
Done in duplicate at Paris, 3rd October, 1904.
(L.S.) (Signe) DELCASSÉ.
(L.S.) (Signe) F. de LÉON y CASTILLO.
4.1209 Joint Declaration of Austria-Hungary
and Russia in Regard to the Maintenance of
Neutrality by Either If the Other Is at War
Alliance Members:Austria-Hungary and Russia
Signed On:October 15, 1904, in the city of St. Petersburg. In force
until October, 1908, when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia.
Alliance Type:Neutrality Pact (Type II)
Source:Key Treaties for the Great Powers, 1814–1914,vol. 2,
p. 765–766.
Additional Citations:Pribram,vol. 1, p. 236.
SUMMARY
The slow death of the Ottoman Empire continued to pose problems
for eastern European great powers by 1904, especially Austria-Hun-
gary and Russia, both of which harbored designs on the Balkans. The
neutrality pact signed in St. Petersburg affirmed each state’s commit-
ment to the status quo in the region and provided for neutrality in the
case of either party engaging in hostilities with third parties—with the
Balkans excluded. The treaty’s terms were also to be kept secret.
By 1908, however, as the crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia
heated up, the terms of the treaty were no longer useful, and it was
allowed to come to an end.
Alliance Text
The undersigned, duly authorized by their August Sovereigns,
have met together today at the Imperial Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to sign the following Declaration:
Austria-Hungary and Russia, united by identical views as to
the conservative policy to be followed in the Balkan countries,
and much satisfied with the result obtained so far by their close
collaboration, are firmly decided to persevere in this course.
Happy to record once more this understanding, the Cabinets of
Vienna and of St. Petersburg attach great importance to offering
each other in due form a mark of friendship and reciprocal con-
fidence.
It is with this purpose that the two Powers have come to an
agreement to observe a loyal and absolute neutrality in case one
of the two Parties signatory to this Declaration should find
itself, alone and without provocation on its part, in a state of
war with a third Power which sought to endanger its security or
the status quo; the maintenance of which constitutes the basis
of their understanding, as pacific as it is conservative.
The engagement between Austria-Hungary and Russia stip-
ulated in the above naturally does not apply to the Balkan coun-
tries, whose destinies are obviously closely attached to the
agreement established between the two neighboring Empires.
The said engagement is understood to remain valid so long as
these two great Powers shall pursue their policy of an under-
standing in the affairs of Turkey; it shall be kept secret, and can-
not be communicated to any other Government, except after a
previous understanding between the Cabinets of Vienna and of
St. Petersburg.
Done in duplicate at St. Petersburg, October 2/15, 1904.
L. Aehrenthal.
Count Lamsdorff.4.1210 Treaty of Björkö
Alliance Members:Germany and Russia
Signed On:July 24, 1905, in the Björkö Sound (Russia). In force until
December 2, 1905, when Russia failed to include France in the treaty
(in violation of Article IV).
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Readings in European International Relations since 1879,
p. 105.SUMMARY
Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War signaled to Germany an
opportunity to offer assistance with the hopes of pulling the Russians
out of their rapprochement with the British, and in 1905 the two
signed a defensive pact aimed at doing just that. A final clause also
committed the Russians to invite the French into the alliance, making
clear its goal of driving a wedge between the British and the Russians.
The alliance was short-lived, surviving only from July to December, as
British and Russian relations went on the mend before the First
Moroccan Crisis, making the Triple Entente an increasingly viable
counter to the Central Powers.Alliance Text
Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor of All the Russias on the
one side, and the German Emperor on the other, in order to
insure the peace of Europe, have placed themselves in accord on