Numerous diplomats and notable figures confronted Talaat Pasha over the deportations and news of massacres. In one such conversation with German Embassy representative Mordtmann, Talaat stated his aims of annihilating the Christians of Turkey under the cover of World War I: "Turkey is taking advantage of the war in order to thoroughly liquidate its internal foes, i.e., the indigenous Christians, without being thereby disturbed by foreign intervention." In a memorandum sent to Berlin demanding the removal of German ambassador Paul Wolff Metternich because he interceded on behalf of the Armenians, Talaat reaffirmed such a commitment: "the work must be done now, after the war it will be too late."