Joseph's travels through Russia in 1780 included a visit with the Russian empress Catherine, which started talks that would later lead to a Russian-Austrian alliance, including an offensive clause to be used against the Ottomans. This was a significant diplomatic development, as it neutralised the previous Russian-Prussian alliance which had threatened the monarchy into peace during the War of the Bavarian Succession. The agreement with Russia would later lead Austria into an expensive and largely futile war with the Turks (1787–1791).