 Patriarch Nerses Varjabedyan approached the Russian leadership during the negotiations with the Ottomans in San Stefano and convinced them to insert a clause, Article 16 to Treaty of San Stefano, stipulating that the Russian forces occupying the Armenian-populated provinces in the eastern Ottoman Empire would withdraw only with the full implementation of reforms.June 1878, Great Britain was troubled with Russia's holding on to so much Ottoman territory in the "Treaty of San Stefano" and forced the parties for a new negotiations with the convening of the Congress of Berlin.The Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin contained the same text as Article 16 but removed any mention that Russian forces would remain in the provinces.