Eventually, after the Bucharest agreement was sealed, recognizing Romanian demands in front of the Entente, Brătianu approved of entering the conflict and agreed to declare war on the Central powers. On 7 August 1916, the matter was communicated to political leaders in a Crown Council held at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest; Ionescu, who was visiting Sinaia together with the American military "attaché" Halsey E. Yates, rushed back to the capital after being invited by Constantinescu-Porcu. Being advised to maintain secrecy over the proceedings, he hid the reasons for his return by starting a rumor that the outbreak of typhoid fever in Sinaia had gotten out of control.