deteriorated. However, Russia's ability to support Serbia was greatly reduced following military humiliation in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and the ensuing internal unrest. By 1907, Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Alois Aehrenthal began formulating a plan to solidify Austria-Hungary's position towards Serbia through annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. His opportunity came in the form of a letter from Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky – proposing Austrian annexation of the provinces as part of a deal to secure better access to the Turkish Straits for Russian naval vessels – and a subsequent meeting at Buchlau castle in Moravia, Austria-Hungary. Buchlau Bargain Exchange of letters On 2 July 1908, Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky sent a letter to Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Alois Aehrenthal and proposed a discussion of reciprocal changes to the Treaty of Berlin in favour of the Russian interest in the Straits of Constantinople and Austro-Hungarian interests in the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. On 14 July Aehrenthal responded with guarded acceptance of the proposed discussions. On 10 September, after long and complex discussions within the Imperial Government discussing the Izvolsky proposals to Austria-Hungary, Aehrenthal outlined a slightly different set of counter-proposals to him: he proposed that in exchange for a friendly Russian attitude when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary would then withdraw its troops from the Sanjak. The letter then went on to offer to discuss, as a separate matter, the Straits question, on a friendly basis. Aehrenthal proposed that should agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina be reached, his Government would not – should the Russians subsequently propose to assert a right of their Black Sea fleet to both use and protect their access to the Mediterranean through the Bosporus – automatically decide with the other powers to support collectively the Ottoman Empire's opposition (up to and including war) to such a proposal. Meeting at Buchlau On 16 September, Izvolsky and Aehrenthal met face-to-face at Buchlau Castle in Moravia, the private residence of Count Leopold Berchtold, ambassador of Austria-Hungary in Saint Petersburg. No minutes were taken during these private meetings, which lasted a total of six hours. Izvolsky accepted the responsibility to write up the conclusions of the meetings and forward them to Aehrenthal. On 21 September, Aehrenthal wrote to Izvolsky asking for this document, to which Izvolsky replied two days later that the document had been sent to the Czar for approval. This document, if it ever existed, has never been