Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The Fort William Inquirer

Luthori and Xsampa to begin negotiations on free-trade agreement; expected signing in years.

January 5618 (backdated)

Fort William, Luthori - In a surprising twist of decades of Luthorian foreign policy in the Dovani continent (if that existed), the Government of Luthori has reported to the International Press Corps news agency (based in Fort William) that it had engaged in "preliminary talks" with Xsampan officials over the "deepening" of both countries' economic ties. This announcement came as a shockwave at the Fort William Stock Exchange, as while Luthorian and Xsampan discussions were "considered" by the International Trade Secretary Campbell, the scenario of it actually happening was "highly unlikely" mostly to the Tories' anti-communism which was considered to be, in right sense, a potential roadblock to negotiations.

The International Press Corps' dispatch was today confirmed through a statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which stated the following:

Tonight, in Metz-Leonid, a delegation of Luthorian diplomats led by the former Prime Minister, His Grace, the Duke of Northminster has landed in the Xsampan capital. There, they have been well received by their Xsampan hosts with respect and hospitality.

The Duke's delegation has for mission to begin preliminary talks with Xsampan authorities over the establishment of a fair and mutually beneficial agreement on the formation of a Free Trade Area between the Holy Luthori Empire and the Democratic Republic of Xsampa.

It is the sincere hope of the Department of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs that these negotiations ends with a positive sentiment for both sides and we pray God for that.

The Luthorian Government's optimistic tone about the whole situation has been remarked by observers as being "uncharacteristic" of the Luthorian style, which is usually bland and without too much pomp nor fanfare about any deals that they might secure. This situation may signal a shift in Luthori's international relations as the Empire seems to have recently refocused her efforts around either traditional allies and partners or towards regions where Luthorian presence has been low in recent decades or centuries.

No official government communiqué from Xsampa seems to have confirmed the existence of backroom meetings with Luthorian diplomats, although recent pictures shared by the Luthorian International Press Corps seems to confirm that fact.

Nonetheless, after the initial shock of the announcement, the Luthorian-Xsampan rapprochement seems to have been taken well by both the populace and economists. One liberal economist, Sir Arthur Gund seems to have well-received this announcement, even though Mr. Gund held highly-controversial statements in regards to Xsampa in the nationalist right talk-show "The Truth", saying:

"The day when the damn reds will know how to run an economy, we'll all be sitting in our coffins.." and "I don't believe that Xsampa will become a democracy anytime soon, their people isn't ready for the finest form of government yet.."

When asked about his previous statements on the Xsampan state and people, Mr. Gund backtracked completely from his previous words, apologizing to the Xsampan people for his "ill-minded" "former" views, which were "influenced", according to him, by the talk show's producers to draw more people to listen to them. Apart from that, he praised the Government's willingness to "look after dividing ideological lines" to work with Xsampa.

It's a good thing, in my opinion, that Luthori begin to work with Xsampa. Both nations are arguably two of the most powerful on the planet and it seems that the Government's willingness to look after the dividing lines of ideology may come in handy here, as both nations have serious interests at working with one another. For Xsampa, it'll provide them with an economic partner on the Artanian continent and will allow them to have more leverage in the Migrants' Pass, for Luthori, this partnership will allow it to sell its goods to another market, staying in course with the International Trade Secretary's statements on the question.

When asked about if the partial restoration of democratic rule, as announced has played a role in the "cooling" of relations between both states, Mr. Gund confirmed that "Xsampa's moves towards a socialist democracy certainly made this easier".

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