In May 1895 , the aforementioned foreign powers prepared a set of reforms . However , they were never carried out , because they were not actively imposed on Ottoman Turkey . The Russian Empire 's policies vis-a-vis the Armenian question had changed . In fact , the Russian foreign minister Alexei Lobanov-Rostovsky supported Ottoman integrity . Moreover , he was so anti-Armenian that he wanted an " Armenia without Armenians " . On the other hand , Britain had gained considerable influence and power in former Ottoman Egypt and Cyprus , and for Gladstone , good relations with the Ottomans were less important than before . Meanwhile , Turkey had found a new European ally , Germany 's Bismarck . The Ottoman Empire thus felt free to commit further massacres , in 1896
massacres , in 1896
Hamidian massacres
1894 Sasun rebellion