April 25, 1852, England, France, and the Ottoman Empire held high-level government talks in Paris to discuss the Near Eastern War. Napoleon III, eager to bring France back to the center of the world, personally presided over the meeting.
"The Russians are launching fierce attacks on the Bulgarian region and the Caucasus region; our troops have repelled their assaults multiple times.
However, to defeat the Russians, our strength alone is insufficient.
Moreover, with the Austrians also covetously watching, a significant portion of our forces is tied down.
If we had only one enemy, we could cope, but now facing two formidable foes, we are truly struggling," said the exhausted Ottoman Foreign Minister Fuad.
This speech was truly difficult to deliver, having to convince England and France to send troops quickly without revealing the weakness of the Ottoman Empire.
