The Macedonian Issue in the Geopolitics of the Balkans in the 20s of the Twentieth Century in the Light of British Diplomatic Relations

The article shows the attitude of the Great Britain towards controversies connected with the so‑called Macedonian issue during the inter‑war period, using British archival and published sources. From the point of view of Great Britain the Macedonian issue should be eliminated from the international politics of those times. Its instrumentalization through individual revisionist countries of the region and powers could lead to destruction of the interwar political order in the region. The Macedonian case was treated by British diplomats as a result of political manipulation and unfulfilled aspirations of circles, dissatisfied with the political status quo of those days. The demands to recognize the Macedonian population as an ethnic minority were ignored by the British diplomacy, treating them as an expression of revisionism. The British hope was in the long‑term assimilation of the population within Yugoslavia and Greece. British diplomacy insisted that Bulgarian authorities restrict the influence of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) on relations with Yugoslavia. On the other hand, Yugoslavia should give up supporting Bulgarian emigrants who found refuge there after the coup in September 1923. Moreover, British diplomacy cared about no influence, in any form of the controversy related to the Macedonian issue, on the League of Nations.