The British, supported by France, sought to exclude the Soviet fleet from the Mediterranean Sea, where it might have threatened the vital shipping lanes to India, Egypt and the Far East.
O Reino Unido, apoiado por Francia, procuraba excluír do mar Mediterráneo a frota rusa, que podería ameazar as vitais rotas de navegación para a India, o Exipto e o Extremo Oriente.