Palmerston, however, was concerned above all about the dangers that the Pasha's territorial expansion were causing to Istanbul. These military activities, Palmerston rightly believed, were pushing Istanbul to seek assistance from the Russians who were only too eager to provide the Sultan with all the help he needed, thus giving them the perfect opportunity to interfere in Ottoman affairs. It was the prospect of Russia's increased influence in Istanbul and its southward expansion towards India rather than any loss of actual or potential markets in the eastern Mediterranean that inflamed Palmerston's feelings against Mehmed Ali's monopoly policies.

Builds on: "Great-power rivalry turned Egypt's crisis into a European-balance matter."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1537