Molotov

The Kingdom of Greece issues a call to the Great Powers. The Turks have yet again engaged in aggressive actions in the Balkans. Throwing aside all norms of modern diplomacy they have invaded our fair Kingdom without any justification. The Turks have been engaging in religious persecution in Crete and the allies have done nothing. Now the Turks have invaded our very homeland for no reasons. Will the Great Powers allow for the undoing of what they achieved in 1832? Or will they stand with Greece?

The French government hears the calls of the Greek people, and while we believe that this is primarily a British endeavor given the origins of the conflict, we nonetheless voice our support for the Greek government in this conflict. The Ottomans have acted in a dishonorable and cowardly manner, invading without cause or provocation and at the same time assassinating a foreign head of state to further expand the conflict beyond the bounds that it had originally been confined to.

Because of the actions of all parties involved, we announce our support for the governments of Bulgaria and Greece, and strongly urge the Sublime Porte to withdraw from all occupied territory and agree to a cease fire before more actors are dragging into this conflict. It is not yet too late for a peaceful resolution, but with every live spent, it becomes that much harder.

Be warned that the voices of the rest of Europe will not stay silent in the face of this blatant aggression.

The Ottoman agression brought down on the Greek people is an offense that cannot be overlooked by Germany and the rest of Europe. It is a desperate attempt for the Turks to grasp at the straws of their fledgling Empire. The invasion of Greece jeopardizes peace in Europe, and that Germany cannot turn its head from.

However, like France, Germany see's the issue as being in the British and Russian sphere, thus we will remain physically out of the conflict, unless other circumstances arise.

We do however plead with all parties involved to find a diplomatic solution before the situation escalates.

The actions taken by the Ottoman Empire should not be tolerated. They invaded the sovereign nation of Greece and have no defense for the action. The Austro-Hungarian Empire supports Greece in this situation, but like Germany and France, we believe this issue should be dealt with the UK and/or Russia. And that diplomatic talks should be held to end the conflict before there is anymore bloodshed.

The United Kingdom not only urges but demands that Ottoman forces immediately withdraw from Greek territory, including Crete, and pay compensation to the Kingdom of Greece. The Turks have carried out an unprovoked invasion of a European country, and made many flagrant violations of the Treaty of Constantinople. As a result of Ottoman actions, the Cyprus Convention of 1878 is hereby abrogated, and for the immediate future, Cyprus remains a British protectorate. The Cyprus Tribute to the Sublime Porte, and Cypriot taxation to this end will now cease, and thus Ottoman debts to the Bank of England will begin to increase significantly. Arrangements to manage, reduce or forgive some of the Ottoman debts to the Bank of England will be considered only in the event of immediate acquiescence to our terms.

If an immediate withdrawal of Turkish police garrisons from Crete does not occur, we will be forced to take steps to expel them. Furthermore, the United Kingdom calls upon France and Russia, as fellow guarantors of the Treaty of Constantinople, to honour their treaty obligations join us in both enforcing the withdrawal of Ottoman forces behind their own borders and an immediate ceasefire between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Great Britain has no desire for further needless bloodshed on either side in this conflict, nor for war with the Ottoman Empire, and Queen Victoria personally implores Abdul Hamid II to consider the lives of not only the Greek people, but his own, which are being senselessly wasted. If our hand is forced, however, we will step in to defend Greek territorial integrity and independence.

We find ourselves shocked by the unilateral Italian intervention into Crete and Athens. As far as we are aware, the Greek government expressed no requests for aid from Italy, and nor were Britain and France informed of Italian intentions in any way - indeed, we still have not had any communication on this matter, directly or indirectly. This, in itself, is quite alarming; as we would hope that the Italian government would come to the negotiating table before it goes to the battlefield.

This rash move creates an exceptionally dangerous situation: European forces may accidentally fire upon one another in Greece, mistaking one another for Turks, and causing a serious incident. In addition, as Turkish forces on Crete have surrendered and are now in the custody of British and Greek forces on the island, there is no reasonable need for Italian forces to be there whatsoever. But we can only assume that this is merely a result of slow communications with regard to the situation.

If Italy wishes to join the Powers in protecting Greek independence and sovereignty, then we invite the Italians to co-operate with the Anglo-French expeditionary forces and join us, jointly, in expelling the Ottoman menace from Greek soil. If Italy has other intentions than co-operation with the expedition, however, then we urge them to withdraw, as Greek independence, in accordance with international treaties to which Italy is signatory, is non-negotiable.

((Just for the record on Crete, since I was the one who did it initially. They were there training Cretan Gendarmes, and had a right to be there through the agreement that put Crete under the administration of 4 admirals from Italy, France, Britain, and Russia. Plus High Commissioner Prince George of Greece. Plus whatever agreement I struck at the time. But whatever.))

Italy responded to a call for aid from a neighbor, at the urging of several parties, and in the interest of keeping her own borders from this Turkish aggression. No offense is intended to our Greek neighbors, and we'd expect them to bring any concerns to us themselves.

There has been much talk of "negotiating tables" as an abstract concept, and little true negotiation following such talk. Italy apologizes that Germany, France, and the UK were not consulted to their satisfaction, but our current strategic situation would not be possible with the current level of communication that even our own allies are engaging in with us.

As it stands, we sit poised on the Turkish flank and feel that perhaps the UK would be better served using this boon to pursue negotiations with the Turks instead. Italy is happy to join whatever strategic discourse it may have been left out of, continue contributing to the war effort until resolved, and then withdraw to pre-Turkish invasion disposition, pending further negotiation with Greece.