Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - Tamás Magyarics: The (Re) creation of the Relations between the US and the Successor States in Central Europe after the First World War

to be a very important one by the leaders of the American foreign affairs in the 1920s.

6

7 YUGOSLAVIA While the U.S. did not have any special problems with the diplomatic recognition of the successor states in general, it did have some in the case of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The Kingdom was established in 1918. At first, the dominating ethnic group was that of the Serbs, later the state was reorganized on a strictly federal basis. However, there were some minority groups that took Woodrow Wilson's words about national self-determination too seriously and some that interpreted them too loosely. The Montenegrians belonged, for instance, to the former group causing some

—but not too much

—irritation to the Slate Department The documents of the Termination of Official Relations Between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Montenegro take only a meagre space among the published documents on the AmericanYugoslavian relations in 1921.® In a circular letter sent to the American Diplomatic and Consular Officers

—the two services had not been integrated yet

—the then Secretary of State, Bainbridge Colby informed the staffs that "... in view of the present status of Montenegro, this Government no longer considers it necessary to accord recognition to her diplomatic and consular officers .J'

0

9 It took quite a long time for the Royal Government of Montenegro

—staying in Rome at that time

—to protest at the State Department The reason for the delay must have been American negligence to inform them in time. T. S. Plamenatz, the Montenegrian Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs pointed out that "no fact, either juridical or international" existed "on the strength of which the Government of the U.S. could break off diplomatic 6

7 Register, 41. 6

8 Papers, 1921, Vol. 2, 945—49. 6

9 Washington, February 8, 1921. Papers, 1921, Vol.2, 947. 702.7311/36b, Serial No. 16. 93