The western ARF and the Catholicos tried to organize diplomatic pressure on Turkey. The Catholicos appealed to the great powers; English and French ambassadors in Constantinople had audiences with the sultan, but the Russian ambassador stood aside. The sultan agreed to send armies for the maintenance of law and order to Sasun. The ambassadors offered to negotiate on the sultan's behalf with the insurgents in Sasun. However, the Russian ambassador delayed; by the time they arrived in Sasun, military action was at fever pitch.