During the recess at Trabzon, the Ottoman forces continued their advance into the Transcaucasian territory, crossing the 1914 border with the Russian Empire by the end of March. The Seim debated the best course of action; majority of the delegates favored a political solution. To this end, on 20 March the Ottoman delegates offered that only if the Seim were to declare independence, thereby confirming that Transcaucasus was no longer part of Russia, could they return to negotiations. The idea of independence had come up before, with the Georgians having discussed it for themselves in depth in the preceding years. However, it was decided against as the Georgian leadership felt the Russians would not approve it and the Menshevik political ideology leaned away from nationalism.