Given the fact that union of Northern Epirus with Greece had already been dismissed by the European Great Powers, they decided that only autonomy or alternatively an international occupation would be appropriate for the region.

The agreement recognized Northern Epirus as an autonomous and self-governing region of Albania under the suzerainty of the Albanian prince, while also acknowledging the Greek character of the area.

[7] In order to arrange the details of the evacuation with the International Commission of Control, an organization set up by the Great Powers to secure peace and stability in the region, the Greek prefect of Corfu moved to Vlorë, where the provisional government of Albania was based.

[8] Given the fact that unification of Northern Epirus with Greece had already been dismissed by the Great Powers, the assembly decided that they would only accept local autonomy, or failing that, an international occupation.

[10][11] On February 22, Zografos sent a note to the representatives of the Great Powers where he addressed the present situation:[12] The Panepirotic Assembly gathered in Argyrokastro has charged us to request that you agree to call the attention of your Governments to the condition created for the Greek Orthodox Christians who have been put in Albania's possession by the declaration of the Powers.The populace of Epirus truly believed it had the right to hope that Europe, tearing it away from Greece and stripping it of the freedom it had enjoyed for more than a year, would at least think to safeguard its existence and its ethnic heritage it was able to preserve intact through five centuries of harsh tyranny.

[14] In a proclamation to the people of Northern Epirus, Zografos maintained that their aspirations had been ignored, that the Great Powers had even denied them self-government within the Albanian state, as well as guarantees for the protection of life, property, religious freedom and of their national existence.

[7] The proclamation also called upon the Epirotes to make every sacrifice defending the integrity of Northern Epirus and its liberties from any attack whatsoever:[8] Epirotes:Gathered in Argyrokastro, the Constituent Assembly of the delegates summoned by the will of the people has declared the formation of the Autonomous State of Northern Epirus, comprising the provinces the Greek Army is forced to abandon...The declaration was also signed by the heads of the local Greek Orthodox metropolitan bishoprics: Vasileios of Dryinoupolis, Spyridon of Vela and Konitsa and Germanos of Korytsa.

[14] On the day of the declaration, Zografos notified the International Control Commission of his appointment as president of the provisional government and announced that the Epirotes would regard any attempt by the newly founded Albanian Gendarmerie to cross their border as an act of hostility and would resist it.

The Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, immediately ordered the withdrawal and handover of the nearby region of Kolonjë to the Albanian units, before the population could join the uprising too.

[10] The Greek Army continued with the evacuation of the region, but the process slowed down out of fear that a hasty withdrawal might offer the opportunity to irregular bands to carry out atrocities against the civilian population.

In fact, the only way for Venizelos to stop the uprising would have been to declare martial law in the region, but this action would have caused major political instability and the possible resignation of his government.

[20] The opposition parties in Greece even accused Venizelos of going beyond what was required of him to comply with the decision of the Great Powers, and instead of simply evacuating the districts, he was handing them over to the Albanians and depriving the Epirotes of any means of resistance.

[10] Meanwhile, on March 7, 1914, Prince William of Wied arrived in Albania and immediately ordered the Dutch colonel Lodewijk Thomson to negotiate with the Northern Epirote representatives.

Thompson met with Karapanos on March 10, and proposed a limited local administration for Northern Epirus under a Christian governor in addition to guarantees of religious and educational rights.

[23][24] Intense fighting occurred in the region of Cepo, north of Gjirokastër, where Albanian gendarmerie units tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate southwardly, facing resistance from the Northern Epirote forces.

[30] According to this agreement, Northern Epirus, which consisted of the regions surrounding the cities of Gjirokastër and Korçë would be an autonomous, fully self-governing part of Albania under the suzerainty of the Albanian prince.