Both were blamed for the failures, so they might as well be called the "Blame Alliance." However, there are differences even among those who take the blame.
Austria jumped willingly to take the blame.
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Austria is spreading rumors, denigrating the national image of France, and claiming economic damages.
Austria's Foreign Ministry: That's not the case, we were simply stating the facts to help the people of Europe understand the truth.
...
The situation with the Tsarist Government was different; they were blamed without even leaving home, as if the blame fell from the sky.
When the Vienna Government takes the blame, it was a mutual agreement, a necessity between France and Austria, turning their quarrel into a mere political game.
The blame thrown by the British was different, deploying troops to attack British forces in Afghanistan, which was no different from declaring war.
