The Greek-Turkish relations

Positive developments were manifested in the Greek-Turkish relations, building upon the policy of bilateral and inter-Balkan cooperation which had crystallised in the first half of the 1930s. In April 1938 I. Metaxas and his Turkish counterpart Inonu signed a new convention which was an extension of the 1933 Treaty. The "complementary treaty" gave without a doubt additional amplitude and weight to the Greek-Turkish alliance relations.

Yet, notwithstanding the favourable for Greece articles of the new Treaty for mutual consultation and neutrality in the event of war, the agreement reflected the two countries' growing nervousness vis-á-vis the realisation that the Balkan Treaty had failed to become a viable alternative to the division of the European system in two opposing camps. In the context of seeking alternatives to the inter-Balkan cooperation, Turkey signed agreements for mutual assistance both with Britain and France in October 1939.