The first bilateral discussion between Czechoslovakia and Hungary (1921) – Mariánské Lázné (II. part)

Although Karel’s spring restoration attempt and the connected feverish diplomatic activity of the Czechoslovak minister of foreign affairs Edvard Benes had an unfavorable impact on the Czechoslovak-Hungarian relations, the urgent necessity of final solution of the accumulated problems of mainly technical or more precisely practical character contributed to a relatively quick reestablish-ment of a healthy communication between both parties in interest of resumption of negotiations of the commissions created in Bruck and in interest of implementation of another bilateral meeting on ministerial level. An evidence of bilateral determination to continue the negotiations initiated in March was another series of informal or preparatory dialogues, or more precisely a gradual initiation in technical commissions since the beginning of June and soon an agreement at another ministerial meeting held on 23 and 24 of June 1921, already in Czechoslovakia, in the city of Mariánské Lázné. Those who took part at this second bilateral meeting were again the head of diplomacy Edvard Benes from the Czechoslovak side, and the new minister of foreign affairs earl Miklós Bánfy and the ex-prime minister earl Pál Teleki from the Hungarian side. In comparison with the informative political dialogues in Bruck, the second bilateral negotiations of ministers had a little more concrete character which was given by the initiation of the sessions of the commissions and by the necessity of discussing the controversial questions emerged in them. Holding of the second Czechoslovak-Hungarian bilateral meeting on ministerial level confirmed definitely the possibility of normalizing relations between both countries, even if not directly on the political field, but at least on the economical one. Thus the Czechoslovak-Hungarian negotiations initiated in the first half of the year 1921 laid the foundations for coming to an agreement about a commercial-political base necessary for both economies, the concrete form of which, nevertheless, claimed further protracted negotiations, or more precisely several years more.