Bulgaria's independence; the establishment of an Armenian principality encompassing Trabzon, Erzurum, and Diyarbakir; the dismantling of the defenses in Dobruja; and enormous war reparations.
Every one of these demands was unacceptable to Britain and the Ottoman Empire, but even more outrageous was the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi.
According to the treaty, the Ottoman Empire was obligated to comply with Russia's demand to close the Dardanelles, meaning it could not allow any foreign warship to pass through the strait under any pretext.
Historically, the British had seized the opportunity presented by the Second Ottoman-Egyptian War to make the Russians sign the Straits Convention, thereby destroying this Russian advantage without bloodshed.
But in this life, because of Franz's intervention, Russia had not signed the Straits Convention. The British warships' interception of the Russian transport fleet in the Black Sea was clearly a violation of the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi.
Russia had the right to demand that the defenses of the Dardanelles be dismantled, or even that Russian troops take them over. The demand that the Ottoman Empire disband its navy was merely a show of force.
Constantinople, as the Ottoman Empire's capital, could not possibly be left without coastal defenses. This was unacceptable under any circumstances.
That raised another problem. If Russia's conditions were not met, this breach of the treaty might become a pretext for another war.
The Russians could choose a suitable moment, then bring one or more allies along and attack the Ottoman Empire again.
And the moment the Russians chose would surely leave the Ottoman Empire and Britain in an extremely disadvantageous position.
"Respected Russian ambassador, do you have evidence that the Ottoman Empire violated the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi?"
Viscount Stratford rose to speak.
Duke Uvarov was somewhat surprised, since it had been the British fleet that