In the speech he delivered on Friday, August 6, at Montecitorio, Count Sforza, coming to the question of the Dodecanese, summed up the Tittoni-Venizelos agreement of July 29, 1919, as follows:
“Italy pledged herself to support at the Conference the Greek claims on Eastern and Western Thrace; she even pledged herself to support the Greek demand of annexing Southern Albania. Greece, in return for this, pledged herself to give Italy a free zone in the port of Santi Quaranta, and to give Italian industry a right of preference for the eventual building of a railway line beginning at this port.
“Greece pledged herself to support at the Conference the Italian mandate over Albania, to recognise Italian sovereignty over Valona, and confirm the neutralisation of the Corfu Canal already prescribed by the London Conference in 1913-14, when Greece had promised not to build any military works on the coast between Cape Stilo and Aspriruga.
“Greece pledged herself, in case she should have satisfaction in Thrace and Southern Albania, to give up, in favour of Italy, all her territorial claims in Asia Minor which hindered Italian interests.
“The Italian and Greek Governments promised to support each other at the Conference concerning their claims in Asia Minor.
“Italy had already pledged herself to cede to Greece the sovereignty of the isles of the Ægean Sea, except Rhodes, to which the Italian Government promised to grant a liberal administrative autonomy.
“Italy also pledged herself to respect the religious liberty of the Greeks who were going to be more under her rule in Asia Minor, and Greece took a similar engagement with respect to the Italians.
“Article 7 dealt with what would happen if the two countries wished to resume their full liberty of action.
“Italy pledged herself to insert a clause in the treaty, in which she promised to let the people of Rhodes freely decide their own fate, on condition that the plebiscite should not be taken before five years after the signature of the Peace Treaty.”
Count Sforza proceeded to say that on July 22, after coming back from Spa, he had addressed M. Venizelos a note to let him know that the Allies’ decisions concerning Asia Minor and the aspirations of the Albanian people compelled the Italian Government to alter their policy in order to safeguard the Italian interests in those regions: