Petrit Latifi
After a Montenegrin spy named Yuraskovic (Yuraskovitch) was caught by Albanian authorities in Durrës in 1927, the Serbian Yugoslav authorities immediately demanded his release, claiming Yuraskovic was an “interpreter”. Belgrad responded by arresting the Albanian delegate in Belgrad and threatening to cut ties with Albania.
“While in Paris and Berlin they were thus busy establishing new ties, Yugoslavia broke off diplomatic relations with Albania. The reason for this was the following:
In the course of last week an Albanian of Montenegrin origin was arrested in the Albanian city of Durrës, on suspicion of espionage. The South Slavic legation in Tirana immediately took up the man’s cause, because he was, it said, attached to the embassy as an interpreter. It demanded his release.
The quarrel continued for a while. In Tirana they said that they had never heard anything about the Albanian being connected with the South Slavic legation, where the latter claimed to have given no knowledge of this connection for years. But they could not produce the evidence, because it was in Belgrade.
Then suddenly a sharp note arrived from Belgrade to the Albanian government. The demand was for the release of the arrested Yuraskovitch within 24 hours, under threat of breaking off diplomatic relations. In the Albanian capital they were not prepared to comply with this demand without further ado.
They were offended by the sharp wording of the Serbian note and indicated that they would only release the detainee after a few stories in the Serbian note had been changed or edited. Serbia did not want to comply with this. The Serbian minister Marinkovitsi demanded unconditional release.
And when this demand was not met, he recalled the Serbian legation from Tirana on 4 June. Diplomatic relations between Albania and Serbia have therefore been broken (for the time being only on the Serbian side).
This is the second country in Europe that terminates its diplomatic relations with another country. First England and Soviet Russia, now Yugoslavia and Albania
The breaking off of diplomatic relations is always an act of significance. One does not do such a thing in a fit of anger, as an expression of dissatisfaction. When England breaks off relations with Russia, it is an act of political consultation and not the coincidental result of a house search.
Although political education in the Balkans may be less than that of Western European states, they do not break off connections by way of or as a result of an incident. The arrest of an Albanian, whether or not an interpreter for the Serbs, is therefore not a sufficient explanation for the new Serbian-Albanian conflict. One could assume that Belgrade used the arrest as a suitable prelude to performing an act that it deemed necessary. But indications for this direction are lacking so far.
It is certain, however, that the incident must be seen in connection with the conflict between Italy and the influence on the Western Balkans. The arrest can therefore be conveniently pushed into the background in order to state that the Serbian-Italian tension has led to the breaking off of relations.
In the meantime, France, in consultation with England, is attempting to mediate. Perhaps these attempts will be successful. It is at any rate a hopeful sign that the Yugoslav government has not yet given the Albanian ambassador in Belgrade his passports.”
Reference
Balkan Academia 