The Balkan Pact of 1953 was an agreement among which three states?

• A. Turkey, Yugoslavia, Greece
• B. Albania, Greece, Turkey
• C. Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia
• D. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania

Answer: (C)

Understanding postwar Balkan security arrangements helps explain why Greece, Turkey, and Yugoslavia formed the Balkan Pact in 1953. This regional mutual-defense agreement bound the three states to consult on security matters and come to each other’s aid if attacked, aiming to deter aggression and stabilize the southern flank during the early Cold War. Greece and Turkey were already part of Western security arrangements through NATO, while Yugoslavia under Tito had split with the Soviet Union in 1948 and pursued independent, regionally-centered security cooperation. Albania and Bulgaria were not part of this pact, remaining outside the Western-oriented security framework. So the trio that created the Balkan Pact is Greece, Turkey, and Yugoslavia.