Niš Declaration

The Niš Declaration (Нишка декларација/Niška deklaracija) was a public declaration of war objectives of the Kingdom of Serbia made on 7 December 1914 after successful offensives of the Royal Serbian Army. The government issued a statement, approved by the National Assembly, which included a call for Yugoslav unification. It was stated that Serbia's objective was to unite the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes into a common state, to be established 'on the ruins of Austria-Hungary'. This state would become a pillar of stability in Europe, it was said. The Niš Declaration did not recognise Macedonians as a separate "tribe". They were seen together with Bosniaks as an "unformed element" that could be eventually assimilated as Serbs.