ABSTRACT
This episode is traditionally known as Lansdowne’s overture to Russia,160 but a closer look shows that it was a diplomatic sounding by Lamsdorff induced by the efforts of the French, Edward VII and Benckendorff. Important steps, like the one which Edward VII and Benckendorff attempted to force on Lamsdorff and Lansdowne, are not made on impulse. The foreign ministers on both sides foresaw that eventually they would try to settle the pending issues. The concern about the brewing Russo-Japanese conflict made it desirable for both sides to maintain communication. The Far Eastern conflict and Curzon’s policy, along with German policy in Turkey and Persia and the budding Anglo-French entente, increased the interest in an eventual settlement.
