The so-called Eastern Question (Orientalische Frage), the division of the declining Ottoman Empire in the Balkans (Southeast Europe), was a priority of the European great powers in the nineteenth century.
The agreement was made between the Emperor Franz Joseph and Tsar Alexander II of Russia initially during the Constantinople Conference (1876–1877) and was subsequently finalised in Budapest on 15 January 1877.
[3] Even in a convention signed with Great Britain on 18 March 1877, there was an emphasis on Russia not creating a large state in the Balkans.
Russia achieved significant success in a fairly short time, culminating in the Treaty of San Stefano, which gave full independence to Romania, Serbia and Montenegro.
However, the main provision was the creation of a large Bulgarian state reaching from the Aegean Sea in the south to Lake Ohrid in the west.