The diplomatic impasses which Greek foreign policy had reached were intertwined with the overall diplomatic state of the country in Europe. Given this, Greece, through the minister of Foreign Affairs Andreas Michalakopoulos, responded positively to the Italian rapprochement that was seeking a closer co-operation between the two countries. Greek-Italian relations in 1927-28 were enhanced by a number of reciprocal visits by state officials. The development of the range and the content of bilateral relations was the basic priority of the policy of Michalakopoulos.
The main objectives for the tightening of political ties were to boost the country's negotiative status, to mediate for improved relations with Bulgaria and Albania, and to improve the status of the Hellenism of the Dodecanese islands and North Epirus. In an initial phase, these contacts had an immediate positive impact on the development of the negotiations between Greece and Romania, but the desired improvement in relations with other northern neighbours (Albania, Bulgaria) had not been achieved. However, the particular value of the Athens-Rome axis can be appreciated when seen in conjuction with the positive outcome of the course of relations with Yugoslavia and Turkey, which was implemented through contacts and various agreements in the late 1920s.