This article aims to elucidate how the Ottoman decision-making elite approached the Armenian reform question in the aftermath of the Young Turk revolution and to demonstrate how foreign political considerations shaped the introduction of the 1913-14 reform programme known as the “Eastern Anatolian Reforms.” Because of the concern that the recognition of regional and communal privileges would disrupt the unity and territorial integrity of the Empire, the decision-makers acted reluctantly to introduce special reforms for Armenians and endeavoured to resolve their problems with general or palliative measures. However, after the defeat in the First Balkan War of 1912-13, they quickly revised their preferences as a result of the change in Empire’s position in international power politics, external pressures, and strategic calculations, and decided to introduce a reform programme that went beyond the limits that they defended earlier. The primary aim for the Ottoman decisionmakers in so doing was, rather than ending the grievances of the Armenian citizens, to safeguard the Empire’s external security and international position. Thus, it is concluded that foreign policy calculations significantly affected the solutions developed for an internal problem, and, moreover, internal reform was used as a foreign policy tool. The article traces the developments regarding the Armenian reform issue in the aftermath of the Young Turk revolution and uses memoirs and newspaper articles to infer the approach and preferences of the decision-makers regarding the reform issue