The Romanian Attempt to Include Albania in the Warsaw Pact Meetings Agenda of 1965

Abstract

Albania’s inclusion in the Warsaw Treaty was a key moment in Albania’s international relations after the Second World War. Joining this treaty “cemented” Albania’s ties to the communist bloc and its Eastward orientation. During the Cold War, this membership reflected the Albanian communist government's particular political, military, and social orientation. Albania’s relations with the Warsaw Pact should be seen as satellite relations conducted through the Soviet Union. This study investigates an event that has already been studied by several Cold War researchers, exposing the dissenting ambitions within this coalition, particularly focusing on Romania’s efforts to build bridges of cooperation with Albania in 1965 with the assistance of communist China and in opposition to Moscow. The subject is not new to Romanian studies of the Warsaw Pact. The examination of documents from Albania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive on how the Albanian communist leadership saw this event at the time, on the other hand, is innovative. The comparative approach, which paired data from the archives of former Warsaw Pact members, revealed that attempts to create fluid alliances amongst them were in embryo but did not threaten their vassalage to Moscow. Likewise, contrary to the perception of communist regimes, Cold War scholars have recently classified Albania and Romania as allies without any strategic weight within the Pact, debunking the myths of communist historiography with nationalist undertones in both countries.

Keywords

• romania
• albania
• warsaw pact
• cold war
• embryo dissidence
• soviet union
• satellite relations
• china