Kalistan

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Empire considers withdrawal from Altea Accords
"We are no longer served" by association, says Empress
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 12, 5724


Her Imperial Majesty addresses the National Assembly on regional security

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina II Ananto said she is considering withdrawal from the Altea Accords. "We feel that a large scale security agreement of this nature no longer serves this Empire," said Her Imperial Majesty. "It is our desire for our Foreign Minister to prepare papers outlining different policy options for us to consider with regard to Altea. But it is our desire to orient away from Egelion and Keris going forward and more toward Seleya, where our most reliable partners traditionally reside."

The Empress called Altea an arrangement of convenience. "When we entered the arrangement sixteen years ago, we were in a very different place, both locally and internationally," said the Empress. "The threat of a global, liberal alliance based in the west was looming, and our nominally cordial relations with Egelion allowed us to consider a coordinated response. But that threat never materialized, and most of the world has pulled back into themselves.

"And now more than a decade and a half later, we see evidence that Egelion is continuing to expand its naval presence globally, not in coordination with security forces in Kalistan but almost without any regard for them, while unilaterally putting their thumbs on the scales in Xsampa to force a pro-democracy outcome. Meanwhile, Egelian government officials publicly criticize a position taken by our daughter when she was a minor, speaking on a matter that she very passionately supports before a private civil society organization, and then call on us to sideline our own Chancellor for daring to suggest that there may be diplomatic consequences for continuing to pollute the air and water we share. Well, she's out by her own failure to maintain her personal integrity, but her statement is still our position, every word of it. And instead of criticizing our daughter and our Chancellor for calling on them to do the right thing, it would have been better if they just had done the right thing, which they claimed to be interested in doing anyway, before our people had to say anything about it."

At the end of the day, the matter with Egelion involves their attitude toward Kalistan. Egelion was a backwater long forgotten, unloved, unremembered land of revolutions while Nicolette I Ananto The Great reigned supreme in the Anantonese Basin. They were an unremarkable frozen territory appended to the east side of Kizenia when the Black Empress was laying the foundations for the Anantonese Empire. And when they could have helped Kalsitan in Kundrati during their meteoric and entirely unanticipated rise to prominence, they turned their backs on Kalistan and mocked our desparate battle against fascism in Artania.

"Since then," Her Imperial Majesty continued, "Egelion has spent their time and energy pushing Kalistan aside while they established for themselves a world empire founded on the clean-picked bones of the old Canrillaise Empire, taking anything of value left in that old system for themselves, finding themselves born on third base and calling it a homerun. They expanded their empire through bald conquest and backroom dealings. And when they finally surpassed Kalistan, they opted for arrogance rather than grace. The Egelian Empire has not often, or recently, acted like the partner, and the equal we had hoped to inspire them to be when we signed the agreement, and it is probably time to tender our resignation rather than remain in an agreement with a nation that has pretense to global power projection who refuses to deal with Kalistan on equal and respectful terms."

The Empress suggested that given the changes in the world, association with Egalion may have cost Kalistan far more than the nation gained from it. "In hindsight, it seems that the real threat to Kalistani National Interests was not on the opposite side of the world after all. The real menace was probably right here in our own back yard."

Her Imperial Majesty suggested that there were other issues with the Accords as well. "Nadiya and Kalistan remain very distant from one another," said the Empress. "Soon after we signed the agreement, we proposed a meeting between our two states to extend formal diplomatic recognition. We posed a number of questions to them regarding the safety of Kalistanis in Nadiya, and they essentially told us that our concerns were not concerns we should have as they have excellent law enforcement. We asked for clarification and direct answers to the questions which would have cleared the way for Kalistan to send formal diplomatic representation to their state, and they walked out of the meeting. We waited in Altea for a week for their side to return, and eventually assumed that they never would. So, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to remain in a treaty with a nation that we don't even formally recognize, let alone have any diplomatic representation within."

She said both Kerisian states seem to relish treating Kalistan as if it does not matter at all to them, and it is hard justifying remaining in a treaty arrangement with states who clearly ignore or mock Kalistan's national interests and who dismiss those interests when they are expressed. "It's the long standing and patently disrespectful manner that they behave toward our nation which will forever remain a source of irritation for this nation toward those states. We value the friendship and association of those we have relationships with. We wish many of those who had relationships with us valued our friendship half as much and sought to cultivate our comity, rather than our resentment."

She also noted that relations with Xsampa may be worsening, following Kalistan's early support for the failed Custodial Government in Xsampa. "If the Communists, who have called non-democratic governments like ours a 'crime' win elections in February, Kalistan will likely need to get our diplomats and our nationals out in a hurry. As long as the Communists are taking such a pointed position, we do not feel that representatives of our Government or members of our society will be secure in Xsampa. We respect the will of Xsampa's people in their elective process, but their vote will determine whether Kalistan may continue a long and profitable relationship, despite our ideological disagreement, or if they will allow radical leftists with an explicitly intolerant manifesto to take control and guide their ship of state away from Kalistan. But if Kalistan leaves Xsampa, that is another reason to withdraw from a treaty with yet another state run by a Party who no longer wants anything positive to do with Kalistan." She added that Kalistan pulling its diplomatic staff from Xsampa would be regrettable, because Her Imperial Majesty is very fond of Xsampa, but added "History has shown us that we cannot trust radicals unless they put something credible on the table that puts our concerns to rest."

Her Imperial Majesty admitted that it may not really matter if Kalistan remains in the Altea Accords or not. "We sincerely doubt that it will matter much at all whether Kalistan remains in the treaty. The instance which gave rise to the treaty has vaporized, or rather never existed. The promises of the treaty likewise never materialized: We had opportunities to conduct joint operations at the beginning, but those stopped happening. We have not actively developed any new weapons systems together, or shared technology or shared intelligence. The Treaty has been essentially defunct for quite some time, and Kalistan leaving it will neither kill it nor revive it. We will fall back on bilateral agreements we established in earlier periods with nations who still wish to associate themselves with Kalistan, while turning our backs on those who do not. And ultimately it will probably not make an iota's worth of difference to the functioning of that treaty. As far as our Empire is concerned, it is dead already." Leaving may, however open the doors for discussions with non Altea nations on security- Her Imperial Majesty has long wished for talks with neutral Gaduridos and Luthori, who is currently associated with similarly defunct MATO agreement. "Closing the door on those who do not care for our association so we may open it to others who might is a wise move," she said.

The decision will likely be made before the end of the year. "We need to give our Foreign Minister an opportunity to research competing arguments for our consideration, so we may make an informed decision." She said she does not expect other treaty nations to make formal requests of the Empire to remain within the Treaty. "We are not holding our breath that our neighbors will modify their opinions of our nation. They have not for the 16 years since we have had this treaty, we doubt they will start concerning themselves with Kalistan now that we are wanting to walk away from them." She added that it is unreasonable for others to expect Kalistan to remain in an agreement that Kalistan receives no tangible benefits from, "especially when that agreement forecloses bilateratal talks in other more profitable and more beneficial directions, from the standpoint of our National interests."

The Empress gave her statements before the National Assembly this week as she was discussing the Foreign policy priorities that included a desire to visit Valruzia and an executive summary of the expansion of Kalistani maritime subsurface surveillance capacities into the seas west of Hulstria and throughout the Merida Strait east of Ananto. While informally supporting the more Orthodox members of her Government, including the new Chancellor of the Empire Sir John Mickelson, Her Imperial Majesty demonstrates that she herself remains what she always has been: She is a staunch nationalist, and remains so much to the satisfaction of many of those deputies who lost their seats at the beginning of this year.

@TheNational