Questions Refer to the Passage Below

Questions refer to the passage below.
"The Eastern Question, which is primarily involved in any discussion regarding the future of the Turks, may be called the ghost that stalks . . . the hall at Paris in which the representatives of the great nations are at present assembled for deliberation as a crisis in the world's history . . .
[At] the close of the eighteenth century the definite decline of Turkey brought the Eastern Question to an acute stage, the European Powers alternately supported the "Sick Man of Europe" or . . . hasten[ed] his demise. [Take the] famous remark of Lord Salisbury after the Crimean War, in which he apologized . . . for England's taking what turned out to be the wrong side, by declaring that she had unfortunately backed the wrong horse, is characteristic of the policy that was pursued in regard to Turkey by all the Powers. It was a question not of the right side, but of the winning side."
The Decline of the Ottoman Empire (1919) Morris Jastrow, Jr., scholar
-Based on the passage above, which statement best supports the author's assertion that European powers took care to pursue the "winning side" rather than the "right side" when it came to foreign policy regarding the Ottoman Empire?

A) European nations supported the "Sick Man of Europe" to maintain the status quo.
B) Britain was inclined to "back the wrong horse" in international affairs.
C) Depending on the situation, European nations either supported or weakened the Ottomans.
D) Turkey's decline brought about a new European foreign policy to support the new states.