Dr. Pat Walsh gave a seminar on the “Geopolitics and Destruction of the Ottoman Empire”. He mentioned the role of the British Empire and that the Ottoman Empire was a great buffer zone from the Russians. The Britain wanted to preserve the Ottoman Empire. In 1890s Britain lost interest in the Ottoman Empire which led to German involvement in the Ottoman Empire. Germans planned to build Berlin-Baghdad railway, as the Britain controlled the seas.
In 1914, the Ottoman Empire remained neutral and tried to keep its neutrality. Afterwards, it joined the war. British promised the Russians that they would take Istanbul as it wanted Russia to open eastern front against Germany. After the War, following the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Britain planned to make a quick peace deal with Ottomans, to prevent the rise of Bolsheviks. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk changed the policy and established Turkish republic using fragmentation of the union of its enemies, establishment of good relations with Bolsheviks, and wars with Greece.