The Adriatic issue was one of the most difficult and dangerous questions for the peace building in Europe: after the armistice, Italy and the recently proclaimed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were strongly resolute in gaining their conflicting territorial claims and tension escalated to the point that an armed conflict was a serious risk. The Adriatic issue, however, did not concern only Rome and Belgrade, but it generally involved the economic interests and stability of the entire Central-Eastern Europe. Despite internal rivalries between Yugoslav nationalities, the Kingdom of SHS was one of the backbones of the new political and territorial order in the Danube-Balkan region, where the hegemonic purposes of France and Great Britain had to face the ambitions of new powers such as Italy.
