CFM Files
Draft Peace Treaty With Bulgaria13
Preamble
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Czechoslovakia, Greece, India, New Zealand, the Ukranian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Union of South Africa and Yugoslavia, as the States which are at war with Bulgaria and actively waged war against the European enemy states with substantial military force, hereinafter called the Allied and Associated Powers of the one part,
and Bulgaria, of the other part;
Whereas Bulgaria, having become an ally of Hitlerite Germany and participating on her side in the war against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and other United Nations, bears her share of responsibility for this war;
Whereas, however, Bulgaria having ceased military operations against the United Nations, broke off relations with Germany, and, having concluded on October 28, 1944, an Armistice with the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the United States of America,14 acting on behalf of all the United Nations at war with Bulgaria, took an active part in the war against Germany; and
Whereas the Allied and Associated Powers and Bulgaria are respectively desirous of concluding a treaty of peace which will form the basis of friendly relations between them and settle questions still outstanding between them as a result of the events hereinbefore recited; thereby enabling the Allied and Associated Powers to support Bulgaria’s application to become a member of the United Nations and also to adhere to any convention concluded under the auspices of the United Nations;
Have therefore agreed to declare the cessation of the state of war and for this purpose to conclude the present Peace Treaty, and have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14a who, after presentation of their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed on the following provisions:
[Page 96]Part I. Frontiers of Bulgaria
Article 1
The frontiers of Bulgaria, as shown on the map annexed to the present Treaty (Annex 1) shall be those which existed on January 1, 1941.
Note.—This text should be considered as tentative, in respect of the Greek-Bulgarian frontier, until the Governments of Greece and Bulgaria have had an opportunity to present to the Peace Conference or to the Council of Foreign Ministers their respective views on this subject.
Part II. Political Clauses
Section I
Article 2
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 3 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 3
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 4 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 4
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 5 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 5
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 6 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Section II
Article 6
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 7 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 7
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 9 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 8
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 10 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
[Page 97]Part III. Military Clauses
Section I
Article 9
The maintenance of land, sea and air armaments and fortifications will be closely restricted to meeting tasks of an internal character and local defence of frontiers. In accordance with the foregoing, Bulgaria is authorised to have armed forces consisting of not more than:
- a.
- A land army, including frontier troops, with a total strength of 55,000 personnel;
- b.
- Anti-aircraft Artillery with a strength of 1,800 personnel;
- c.
- A navy with a personnel strength of 3,500 and a total tonnage of 7,250;
- d.
- An air force, including any naval air arm, of 90 aircraft, including reserves, of which not more than 70 may be combat types of aircraft, with a total personnel strength of 5,200. Bulgaria shall not possess or acquire aircraft designed primarily as bombers with internal bomb-carrying facilities.
These strengths will in each case include combat, service and overhead personnel.
Article 10
[Virtually identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 12 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 11
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 13 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 12
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 14 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 13
[Virtually identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 15 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 14
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 16 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 15
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 17 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
[Page 98]Article 16
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 18 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 17
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 19 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty and Article 39 of the Draft Italian Treaty.]
Section II
Article 18
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 20 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
War Graves
[Identical to the unnumbered proposal following Article 20 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Part IV. Withdrawal of Allied Forces
Article 19
All armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers shall be withdrawn from Bulgaria as soon as possible and in any case not later than 90 days from the coming into force of the present Treaty.
All unused Bulgarian currency and all unused Bulgarian goods in the possession of the Allied forces in Bulgaria, received in accordance with Article 15 of the Armistice agreement of October 28, 1944, concluded between the Governments of the U.S.S.R., U.K. and U.S.A. and the Bulgarian Government, will be returned to the latter within the same period of 90 days.
Bulgaria, however, undertakes to provide, during the period between the coming into force of the present Treaty and the final withdrawal of Allied forces, all such supplies and facilities as may be specifically required for the forces of the Allied and Associated Powers which are being withdrawn, and due compensation shall be paid to the Bulgarian Government for such supplies and facilities.
Part V. Reparation and Restitution
Article 20
Losses caused to Yugoslavia and Greece by military operations and by the occupation by Bulgaria of the territory of those States will be indemnified by Bulgaria to Yugoslavia and Greece, but, taking into [Page 99] consideration that Bulgaria has not only withdrawn from the war against the United Nations, but has declared and in fact, waged war against Germany, the Parties agree that compensation for the above losses will be made by Bulgaria not in full but only in part, namely to the amount of—United States dollars payable over—years.*
Article 21
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 65 of the Draft Italian Treaty with the exception that paragraph 8 of the latter text is not included.]
Part VI. Economic Clauses
Article 22
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 68 of the Draft Italian Treaty. The date of April 24, 1941, is used here instead of the date of June 10, 1940, appearing in the Article in the Draft Italian Treaty.]
Article 23
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 25 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 24
U.S., U.K. and French proposal:
[The proposal included here in italics is identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 26 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
U.S.S.R. proposal:
The rights of the Bulgarian Government and of Bulgarian physical and juridical persons with regard to Bulgarian property and other Bulgarian assets on the territory of Allied and Associated Powers, insofar as such rights were limited in consequence of the participation of Bulgaria in the war on the side of Germany, shall be restored after the coming into force of the present Treaty.
Article 25
U.S.S.R. proposal:
- 1.
- Any restrictions imposed in respect of any Bulgarian property in Germany, and in other countries which participated in the war on Germany’s side shall be removed after the coming into force of the present Treaty. The rights of any Bulgarian owners with regard to the disposal of any such property shall also be restored.
- 2.
- Bulgaria shall be entitled to the restitution of any identifiable property removed by force or under duress from Bulgaria after September 6, 1944, and now located in Germany.
- The restitution of any Bulgarian property note located in Germany shall be carried out under the direction of the military authorities of the Powers in occupation of Germany.
U.K., U.S. and French proposal:
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to the U.K., U.S. and French proposal to Article 27 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 26
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 28 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty and Article 70 of the Draft Italian Treaty.]
Article 27
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 29 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty with the following exception: paragraph 4 of the Rumanian Article is not included.]
Article 28
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 30 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Article 29
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 31 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty and Article 72 of the Draft Italian Treaty.]
Articles 30 and 31
[Identical, mutatis Mutandis, to Articles 32 and 33 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty and Articles 73 and 74 of the Draft Italian Treaty.]
Part VII. Clauses Relating to the Danube
Article 32
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Article 34 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty.]
Part VIII. Final Clauses
Articles 33, 34, 35, and 36
[Identical, mutatis mutandis, to Articles 35, 36, 37, and 38 of the Draft Rumanian Treaty and Articles 75, 76, 77, and 78 of the Draft Italian Treaty.]
[Page 101]- The table of contents and list of annexes of the source text are not printed here.↩
- Department of State Executive Agreement Series 437.↩
- Ellipsis occurs in the source text.↩
- Note.—The Council of Foreign Ministers decided to postpone consideration of this Article until the question could be discussed with the Governments of Yugoslavia and Greece. [Footnote in the source text.]↩
- No map accompanied the English and French texts of the Draft Treaty.↩